Nightmare
by shadowwriter01
Summary: Side-story to time circle: 9.000.000 years ago. Cybertron had been thrown out of it s orbit. On it s uncontrolled flight through the galaxy it cross the way of a dead world. But not everything is dead and not everything is gone.
1. Chapter 1

The Transformers are property of hasbro. Therefore I don´t own them.

**Nightmare**

They were standing in the middle of a dead world. It was a endless wasteland of devastated cities and burned up land. Barely anything living was left. The entire planet was lying in ruins.

They didn´t knew what exactly had happened or when. They were on a mission. In search for for their intended target. The two lonely living shapes were walking through the devastated area. Destruction and decay was everywhere around them. The sky of the planet was darkened from clouds of nuclear ashes. This world hadn´t seen real day or night for centuries. The atmosphere was full of ashes that blocked the light of the sun out. It was a nuclear winter.

They were two large robotic beings with red eyes and large wings that were attached on their backs. Both had glowing red eyes. The two robots were obviously built for fighting. They were armed with deadly weapons, they had nearly indestructible bodies and their strength was far greater than that of nearly every other species. Both could fly several times faster than sonic and had fast and lethal reflexes.

Under normal circumstances this warriors would have been intimidating for everybody who saw them.

Between the endless wasteland of ruins and ash however, they seemed small and insignificant. As if the landscape would come to life and swallow them any time.

The surface of the destroyed world created a horrifying atmosphere that made the two robots look harmless in comparison.

Their names were Skywarp and Thundercracker. They were Decepticons from the planet Cybertron. Both were jet form Decepticons, so called seekers or skyraiders and members of Megatron´s airial elite. Between the rubble and the ruins, the two Decepticons were making their way. Right following the signal that led them to this place. The two soldiers did their duty without paying much attention to their surroundings or at least they tried to.

As far as they could say, the destruction was caused by century long conventional and nuclear warfare between the natives. A war that had ended at a point where they had destroyed each other and their entire world with them. That was at least the most likely explanation. Nobody could say for sure, nobody was left to tell.

The two visitors didn´t knew if this was the truth, they didn´t even knew how the creatures were called who had lived on this planet, they could only guess. All they had seen of them were skeletons and rubble.

In the few hours they had been here, they had seen the remains of atrocities, they had not even witnessed in nearly two centuries of war. Whatever happened here, it were clearly not only nuclear explosions.

On their way they had found the scarred corpses on several natives. The creatures had clearly not died from explosions or radiation. The bodies had been mutilated. They had been clean cut open with knives and swords, the weapons were in some cases still lying next to their owners, others had been beaten to death, killed with stones, cracked bones, limps had been ripped out.

Everywhere on this world, they came along, it was the same picture. Everywhere the rests of the nuclear fallout as well as natives who had been killed and tortured in the most gruesome way.

What had happened here?

Thundercracker saw all that around him and couldn´t help to get a bad feeling. He knew the same could easily happen to Cybertron too. A devastating war between the Decepticons and the Autobots was raging on the planet. His world was in a stage that could also lead to this kind of destruction. Every Transformer knew, even if nobody was willing to admit it.

Over two vorn ago, in the battle of kalis, the planet Cybertron had been trown out of it´s orbit. Since then it had been travelling uncontrolled through space. The situation was bad.

It was a good explanation for the uneasy feeling that was dwelling inside him.

But if he was honest, there was something different too. This entire place, this world, somehow it had something menacing.

Since they had arrived here, Thundercracker had a feeling as if someone was watching them, someone who was still here.

He didn´t say anything. He knew Skywarp would laugh about this.

A Decepticon, who was fighting a deadly war for centuries, afraid of ghosts.

It was ridiculous, right. But he just couldn´t shake off the feeling.

Skywarp checked the sensor, then he pointed in the direction in front of him.

"It is in this direction", he informed Thundercracker, seemingly undisturbed by everything around him.

The two Decepticons continued their walk without saying another words for a few minutes.

None of them had liked this mission from the beginning. Their orders were to search for a group of Decepticons on a exploration mission, who had gone missing in this sector, five cicles ago.

Under normal circumstances this could have also been done by lower ranked seekers. If it hadn´t been for the leader of this particular exploration team.

That of course didn´t mean that they liked it any better.

Even if he didn´t show it, this planet made Skywarp nearly as nervous as Thundercracker. Both of them hated this place and the fact that they had to stray around on it for hours and days only to find a few Decepticons who were stupid enough to get lost here in the first place.

First they had searched this star system for days to find a trail to the missing and now they were wandering around in this hell without any end in sight.

"Do you think we will find Starscream´s group soon Warp?" Thundercracker exclaimed.

"I want to get away from here as soon as possible."

The blue seeker didn´t saw much of a point in hiding his unrest anymore.

"I think we are coming closer", Skywarp answered him. "It´s in that direction."

Something was lying before them. It was buried under rubble.

Then they saw that it was a destroyed ground vehicle and a rotten skeleton, that was lying next to it.

"No, unless he had really changed, that isn´t Starscream", Skywarp pointed out sarcastically.

"Let us go", Thundercracker muttered impatiently.

"Yes", Skywarp answered him, "it´s that way."

They were close to their aim. On Megatron´s orders, they had searched through this entire part of space to find the missing Decepticons.

Thundercracker thought for a moment that his audios had registered something. He looked around. There was nothing beside the wind. For a few moments was nothing, then it was back.

It was a laughing.

"Do you hear that?" He asked his partner.

"What?" In the moment Skywarp had asked this, he suddenly shrugged.

He heard it too. The laughing continued for a few more seconds. Then it was gone.

Their optical sensors couldn´t register a single living being in the area. But the analyses of their systems confirmed what they have heard.

"What was that?" Thundercracker asked nervously.

"I don´t know", Skywarp answered.

"I have slowly enough of this entire trip", Thundercracker called out. "First moping around in space for days and now this. If Megatron wants to find Starscream that bad, why doesn´t he come here himself and look for him?"

"Calm down", Skywarp told him. "It was probably nothing. Some surviving native, who is hiding out here or some strange weather phenomenon."

"weather phanomenon", Thundercracker repeated toneless, "clear, sounds **really** convincing."

Finally, they saw the body of a Transformer before them on the ground.

It was a seeker like them.

"Roughstart", Skywarp recognised him, "he was a member from Starscream´s team.

"It was his black box, we have been tracing."

The seeker was lying on his stomach in the mud. But by what they could see, he seemed to be relatively undamaged.

Skywarp felt for the first time since he sat foot on this planet actually relieved about something.

"It looks like he isn´t in a too bad shape Thundercracker."

Skywarp kneeled beside the unconscious seeker.

"We will save him and then he will led us to the others."

Skywarp smiled. He grabbed Roughstart by the shoulder and turned him around.

And he froze. He shrugged back and let Roughstart´s body fall back down.

Thundercracker´s mouth opened. For a moment he only stood there and stared.

Roughtart´s optics were gone. Where his eyes should have been, were only two gaping holes in his skull.

And that wasn´t everything. A giant widened cut went down over his chest and stomach. Parts of the circuity behind it seemed to have been ripped out.

Both Decepticons could only gape into the empty eye pockets for a few seconds.

"By Cybertron", Thundercracker finally brought out.

In that moment they heard the laughing again, more clear than before. Thundercracker turned around. There was nothing.

The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere around them.

When the mutilated Decepticon before them began to move again.

Despite that the two thought and somehow hoped, he wasn´t dead.

He smiled, something that looked bizarre in the eyeless face and he spoke.

His voice sounded rusty and hollow.

"You will all die", he said. The smile widened.

"All of you will die."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author notes:

This story is, as it was stated in the description, a sort of side-story to my fanfic time circle. Nightmare is so basically a spin-off. It gives some more background to some characters.

The story is based on ideas that I had for the other story, but is not part of it´s main plot. Both fanfics are still in close relation to each other. Many events in Nightmare are based of Time Circle and the other way around.

It can however still be read and seen as an indipendent story.

The rating will probably be changed to M.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Roughstart, a critically wounded and blind seeker, one whose optics and been ripped out and who had been cut open from one end of his body to the other, began to laugh, joining the laughter that was around them. The insanity of the situation made the sight even more frightening.

Skywarp gripped the obviously deranged Decepticon by the shoulders. He was careful not to accidentally kill him in his damaged state.

He was still murmuring about their deaths.

During this he winced and hesitated for short moments. It was obvious that the seeker was in terrible pain, but that didn´t kept him from thoughtlessly repeating the same litany all over again.

He had gone crazy. That much was obvious.

The other two seekers had enough.

"Listen you fool. You will tell us now what had happened to you and where are Starscream and the others?" Skywarp demanded from him.

Roughstart was quiet for a second.

"What had happened to them?" He said casually as if the answer was obvious.

"The same that will happen to you. In the moment you set a foot on this planet, you have sealed your fate."

As he had said this words, he started to laugh again. He was roaring with laughter now. Some diodes were sparking inside his open wounds

him from that. It was a macabre scene.

"If you don´t tell us, we can also just let you here to slowly mold to death. I am sure after a few weeks of constant pain and suffering you will have it behind you.

What do you think, will you simply leak out and die of loss of fuel or will through the sour rain, water get into your inner systems and short you out sooner or later?"

Skywarp asked him smiling. "What do you think will happen first?"

"We will see. Come Thundercracker, we look elsewhere and leave this piece of trash to himself."

With this statement the two turned their backs on him and set to leave.

This seemed be to finally getting through to Roughstart.

"No wait", he yelled, "I will tell you everything, everything I know."

"Good, we wait", Skywarp told him.

"We, Starscream and nine others, were ordered to go on a research mission. Cybertron was crossing a star system where they suspected planets that were "valuable for our needs", he grinned at this. "We were sent out to look for resources."

He told them things so far they already knew.

"And", Thundercracker asked this time, "what had happened? What went wrong?"

"It started when we"…he was for a moment shaken by cramps and couldn´t speak, "when we first came to this planet", he continued.

"Or maybe it had already begun earlier. When we found the colony."

"Colony?", asked Thundercracker.

"Another planet in this system. A settlement of a organic species. Well, not anymore", he said with a sinister smile.

_One of the neighboring planets of the same star system, 7 days earlier_

Starscream was standing before a group of aliens. It were small organics, barely reaching over a foot of the larger Decepticons, who had built a colony on a otherwise for them inhabitable world. The atmosphere of this planet was unbreathable for this species. A large dome of glass and steel protected the entire colony from the outside space. Under it was a habitat of a few kilometres where this species could survive. Here had they built a town for themselves.

Ten-thousands of them lived inside this artificially created area.

The scientist in Starscream was actually intrigued by the city and it´s construction and he took a few to watch it more intensive.

A few metres behind the air commander were the other nine members of his team standing in line.

The creatures were walking on two legs, had two pairs of arms and two eyes.

Small organic creatures like they existed on many other worlds.

One of them stepped for and faced Starscream directly. This one seemed to be, according to their data, a very old exemplar of his kind, obviously a leader of this people.

As he said something, it took the computers of the Decepticons a few moments to translate his words.

"Welcome foreign beings. This is Raal, a colony of the Cheaons, I am elder Zadius", The creature greeted them.

"If you allow me the question stranger, are you controlling this machines or are you really robots?"

"Oh yes, very perceptive of you, what you see is really our true appearance", Starscream told him proudly. "We are mechanical Lifeforms from the planet Cybertron. You can call us Decepticons."

By the way he said this, he made it sound as if he was doing them a favour by allowing this people to call then by their name.

"Elder Zadius, we came here because we have a request to make for your people" Starscream told him with a friendly tone and a smile.

The other Decepticons meanwhile had taken position in a in a half circle around them, surrounding the organics. All of them had their weapons drawn. It was obvious what kind of a "request" it was.

"What can we do for you?" The elder asked the Decepticons politely. He was nervous, afraid of the large strangers, but hiding it well.

"I am Starscream, air commander of the Decepticon empire", the leader of the newcomers declared.

"I am searching for energy resources in your system and you will help me locate them."

It wasn´t a question, this was even clear to this alien creatures. Starscream was ordering them for their assistance.

"We are suspecting possible usable planets in your system. We have located one very close to here, that seems to match our parameters very closely", he continued.

"It is the fourth of this star system." He glared at the old one before him.

As he said this, everybody in the crowd before the Decepticons froze visibly. There was a fear to see on their faces that wasn´t there before.

It was obvious that they knew something and for Starscream only that mattered.

"You and your people will give us all the information you have about this planet", he ordered. "And if any of you knows more about where to find the resources we seek, you will come with us and show us the way", he announced.

Starscream saw the expression on the alien´s face. "You know more, don´t you?" He asked. Zadius shrugged at the question, only a bit but enough for the Decepticon to see.

"Yes, I know it is like that", Starscream said with a smile.

Some of the people in the crowd, showed their panic now. A few shouted or moved backwards.

"You can not go to this planet", the old man told him now, visibly afraid but serious, "and none of us will go either."

Starscream was taken aback by this. That this small lifeform had actually the insolence to defy him.

"And why do you insignificant creature think you can tell me what I have to do?" He asked the Cheaon elder threatening.

"I am only trying to warn you machine being. You will die if you will go there."

"Oh yes and why?" Starscream asked, both curious and sarcastic.

"The planet you are planning to go to is plagued by a horrible menace. It brought the inhabitants of that world to destroy each other and everybody who dares to set a foot on the planet will share the same fate. A few of our people tried to built a colony on that world too. They all died there. It is a curse more terrible than anything you can imagine. We won´t set a foot on this planet anymore and neither should you."

For a moment, Starscream was surprised. Then he started to laugh.

"So you are telling me that the planet is cursed. A cursed planet, that is rich."

Then he suddenly turned deadly serious again.

"Listen, we will go exactly there and you and your people will led us to this planet and all possible energy we can find there. You said yourself that your kind had been there before. And if I decide to take a few of you with us, I will do it."

These aliens and their strange notions were really amusing, true. But such a being couldn´t be allowed to talk back to the second in command of the Decepticons like that. This creature had to learn his place.

"Let me make one thing clear. To me you are a inferrior Lifeform. I don´t care about your superstitions and stupid fears.

And the only thing you really have to be afraid of here is me", he said aloud.

"Have you understand me? You will all do as I say and do you know why you will do it? Because I order you", he ended.

Zadius eyes widened now.

"You foolish creature. You will only get your men killed with your arrogance and and I won´t allow you to kill mine. We won´t do what you say and now leave."

"You insolent worm!" Starscream screamed now. "How do you dare to talk to me like that. You don´t want to cooperate? Good, I fulfill you your wish.

With that he aimed his weapon at the old man and vaporized him with one shot.

The Cheaons could only stare at the place where their murdered leader had been standing, moments before.

"So, I hope the rest of you will be more cooperative", Starscream growled at them.

He received angry shouts as answer. The crowd was getting into a rage. Some picked stones up from the ground and threw them at Starscream. Others just screamed and yelled insults at him. More and more stones and other small objects flew at the air commander.

"Enough", he called out. "Kill them."

The other Decepticons were starting to move now.

Starscream´s troop consisted of two other jets beside him, two tanks, two Cons who transformed into cars and one whose altform was an exotic looking carnivore from another planet.

The most started shooting, they used their guns to simply cut the assembled Cheaons down without mercy, the tanks transformed and fired at the town. A few however in a more bloodthirsty mood, just stomped the organics down, crunched them with their bare feet.

The Decepticons were now partly walking in orange colored blood.

A few minutes later, over hundred organics were lying dead on the ground. The Decepticons were standing with guns smoking and their armour and some of them with their armour sullied with gore. The town before them was burning.

"Enough of this", Starscream ordered.

He lifted off the ground in robot mode and flew directly under the ceiling of the glass dome that protected the colony from the space outside.

Starscream lifted his guns and fired at the glass wall. The laser blasts burned through the bulletproof material and shattered it. At the areas where starscream shots hit, the dome was breaking apart.

The air leaked out into space through the holes, leaving the colony to the vacuum of space. Everything what had survived the Decepticon attack now perished.

Down in the city, the last fires were going out, as the last bit of oxygen was gone.

_Dead world, now_

"And then we came here", Roughstart told them. "And here it truly started."

"Started what?" Thundercracker asked.

"Death." Roughstart answered him. "Dieing, killing, murder, the end of life", he murmured senseless.

"Where are the others", Skywarp asked impatient.

"The others", Roughstart smiled, "Oh they are everywhere, everywhere around here. If you look you will surely find parts of them."

He started to laugh again.

"I have enough of this", Skywarp told Thundercracker, "we put him into stasis and when we contact Megatron and set up a meeting point."

"Yes Megatron, I am sure Megatron will like it here. Yes go and get Megatron." Roughstart reacted cheerfully.

"Thundercracker", Skywarp said, "put the idiot into stasis."

"No, no you won´t", Roughstart called out. Before Thundercracker or Skywarp could react, he pressed one of his underarm guns under his chin and fired.

The left side of his head exploded and scraps were flying in all directions. Roughstarts body sank motionless to the ground.

"Damn", Thundercracker hissed.

Both looked for a second at the corps lying before them.

"Let us go Thundercracker", Skywarp finally said. "We have to meet Megatron."

"Yes, let us hope that he will finally get us out of here."

Suddenly they heard something moving next to them.

Both seekers turned around.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, welcome here, to my place."

For a moment, they could only stare with open mouths and glance at what they saw.

Roughstarts corps was moving again. His half skull was looking at and talking to them.

What ever this was, it wasn´t Roughstart. That was clear to the seekers. The voice was deeper, different, someone or maybe something else.

His empty eye pockets were now glowing in a unnatural red, deeper and more intense as the color of Decepticon optics. And they were looking at them.

"Finally we talk in person", the monstrosity said to them."

"Lets get away from here", Thundercracker yelled.

The two Decepticons started to run. They were both hardened warriors, but they were both long at the end with their nerves.

After a few metres, they blasted off the ground and flew off with full speed.

_Cheaon colony, in the present_

Another group of robots had arrived at the place that had once been a town. It were Autobots. They were looking through the remains. It was clear that nobody had survived with the destroyed outer structure. To survive the organics needed oxygen.

But in the end the Autobots at least wanted to testify what had happened here.

One of them, a mostly red robot whose chest consisted mostly of a windshield, stood in the destroyed colony with visible unrest.

"Damn it Prime, they destroyed really everything here", he called out.

"I know Ironhide", the Autobot leader, a very large red and blue mechanoid answered him.

Another white and black robot, Jazz approached the Autobot leader.

"Prime, like we expected nobody had survived. Without air the organics had no chance", he informed the Autobot leader.

Optimus took the information without any visible motion.

"How many?" He asked finally. His voice showed an underlying passion that was the exact opposite from his outward appearance.

"Thousands, at least. More likely ten-thousands", Jazz answered him.

"We can not let them get away with this." Ironhide demanded.

"We won´t Ironhide. We will find the group who is responsible for this and stop them."

xxxxxxx

A shuttle was descending from the sky. It landed on the burned out ground, next to the two Decepticons.

Thundercracker and Skywarp had been waiting for Megatron´s arrival.

The air lock was opened, a ramp was moved out and the Decepticon leader stepped at the outside.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, it is good to see you", he greeted them.

"Yes Megatron", Thundercracker responded. Megatron noticed that his voice was shacking.

"Skywarp, give me your report", he addressed the other.

"My report?" Skywarp asked incredulous.

"My report", he said toneless.

"Yes your report. What by Cybertron is with you?"

"I will give you my report Megatron. But I can tell you, you won´t like it."

xxxxxxx

A few miles from the Decepticons, a group of humanoids was standing. They were, with the exception of their reptilian like skin, from their appearance very similar to what the human species, would be like millions of years later.

They all were full of dirt and dust and all of them had the same, unnatural red glowing in their eyes.

In front of the group stood a tall female with long black hair.

"Megatron, he is finally here", she said.

XXCC

It had taken me far longer to write this as I had thought. I was the whole time occupied otherwise. Would you know what a week I have behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"You know Skywarp, if anybody else had told me that story, I would have shot him first, before asking any other questions."

"I know Megatron, but this is exactly what happened."

"Ans you are telling me that this planet is haunted?" The Decepticon leader commented.

"Yes Megatron."

"Skywarp, can it be that you are developing a liking for practical jokes?" Megatron said ironically. But he turned serious again a moment later.

"Soundwave?" He asked his communication officer, who came with the same shuttle. The dark blue Decepticon performed a mind scan on both seekers.

"They told the truth Megatron", he said, " or at least what they think is the truth."

Soundwave´s voice was monotony and mechanical. Because of this, he seemed almost emotionless at the first look. The Decepticons around him however knew that this wasn´t true.

"Do you say that we were hallucinating?" Skywarp asked angrily.

"Possibility of mental manipulation", Soundwave answered simply.

"That wasn´t an illusion", Thundercracker stated.

"We will see. Soundwave, eject Ravage", Megatron ordered. "He shall find the energy and Starscream too if he is still alive. That way or another, our scans confirmed that the most resources of this planet are still intact, we will find them."

"What?" Skywarp called out.

"Megatron, we have to leave this planet." Thundercracker told him.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp, you are Decepticon warriors, act like it", Megatron reminded them forcefully.

"Yes Megatron." Both seekers answered.

"Soundwave, you come with us, the rest stay with the shuttle", the Decepticon leader ordered.

The group of Decepticons went on their way, back in the direction Skywarp and Thundercracker came from.

xxxxxxx

A shuttle was about to enter the planet´s atmosphere.

A large group of Autobots was on board. Under them were Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, Jazz, Kup and Grim-Side. And beside them several other soldiers.

"We followed the particle trail of the Decepticon ship to this planet", Kup stated.

Outside of the shuttles windows, they could see the form of the globe. The atmosphere was grey, contaminated, the surface down there was scarred, the biosphere itself damaged beyond repair and the cities were destroyed.

"This planet is lying in ruins, Kup, Optimus?" Ultra Magnus had red the scans from the computer.

"By the Matrix, could the Decepticons have done this too?" Jazz called out.

"No, this destruction happened centuries ago", Magnus told him. "The Decepticons have nothing to do with it."

"Are there signs of life left?" Optimus asked him.

"I am not sure, I think I can read a few signs, but they are somehow distorted."

On the console next to them, a light started to blink.

"Optimus, I am receiving a transmission", Ultra Magnus disbelievingly told him.

It seemed impossible that anything should have survived down there.

"Put it through", Optimus Prime finally told him.

"Help me." A voice was to hear. It was deep, hoarse and somehow hollows.

"I am lost here. Help me."

The Autobots looked at each other. It was a call for help, so somebody must have survived on this world.

"This is Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime of the Autobots. Do you hear me?"

"Yes", the voice replied, it sounded weak, "I hear you."

Optimus went to the comm. console himself.

"Here is Optimus Prime speaking. I am the leader of the Autobots."

"Leader? Will you help me?"

"Yes. As Autobots it is our duty to help everybody who would need our help."

"Good."

"Can you tell us your name?"

"No."

"Are you one of the natives?"

"No, I am, I was lost."

"Hello?" Optimus asked.

"Very strange", Kup commented.

"Who ever that is, we will help him." Optimus decided.

"It was our goal to follow the Decepticons anyway and they are down there."

Far below them, on the place were the voice originated, something was waiting for them.

xxxxxxx

Megatron, Skywarp and Thundercracker, Soundwave and Ravage were making their way back through rubble and ash.

"I is this way were we found the remains", Thundercracker pointed out.

They were being watched, by more than one.

It was a group of 20 natives. They all looked wretched and more dead when alive. Their clothes were hanging from their bodies in scrapes, they were all out-drained by hunger and first, their reptilian like skin was burned by radiation and many had open wounds. By all rights they should have dies in this environment a long time ago. But something was keeping them alive.

And through their eyes, another single intelligence was looking at the Decepticons.

Without a warning, the fire was opened at them.

A few of the natives were armed with laser weapons, others with blades and a few were completely unarmed, simply throwing stones.

It was an insane attack, suicidal and beyond that. A small group of half dead walking corpses were attacking five fighting machines in the size of houses.

But they didn´t seem to care. All they did was attacking rigorously without any sense of reasoning. Some were screaming to the brink of their voices. There was no telling if this creatures were in anger or in pain. Or if it was utter madness.

For a few moments, out of surprise, none of the Decepticons acted.

"What the hell are this fools thinking?" Thundercracker called out.

"Probably gone mad", Skywarp replied. "Does this surprise you after all we have seen here?" He said more quietly.

Finally Megatron gave the order. "Decepticons attack."

It was a slaughter that took only a few seconds. Thundercracker and Skywarp lifted their guns and killed a dozen attackers with a single salve.

Megatron fired his fusion gun and completely disintegrated three of them. Ravage killed two men with his claws. The three remaining were shot by Soundwave.

It was over. 20 corpses were lying on the ground before the Decepticons.

Thundercracker looked at the dead natives, his expression was unreadable. Skywarp was similar, but he looked at Megatron.

"They had not the slightest chance", Thundercracker murmured.

"Something had influenced the minds of this creatures and driven them insane", Megatron exclaimed.

"Maybe there are even more deranged natives here." Megatron took a last look around.

"We put these creatures out of their misery. Come on."

Then they saw that one native was still there. It was a female, by what they could say. But in opposite to the others, which one just stood there and watched.

And then it spoke.

"Megatron, I have been waiting for you."

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" The Decepticon leader growled, "and why are you not in the same state as the rest of your kind?"

If any of the Decepticons was surprised by this, they didn´t show a reaction anymore. They had already seen too much to truly be impressed by something now.

"I will explain everything to you very soon. I am here to give you an offer."

"What kind of an offer?" Megatron asked.

"An invitation from my master", the female said smiling. "All you have to do is come with me and hear what he has to say."

"And why should I agree to this?"

"First of because I can explain to you what exactly is happening on this planet and my master can lead you to your missing soldiers."

It shouldn´t surprise Megatron that this creature knew about this too and it didn´t.

"Good, we will come with you, but any tricks and we will kill you."

"I understand perfectly lord Megatron", she assured him. "Come, follow me."

The Decepticon followed the way, the female native showed them.

xxxxxxx

Hundreds of miles away from them, another seeker was straying through the wasteland.

He couldn´t remember how exactly he got there. The last clear memories he had were eradicating this colony of irritating little organics and landing on this planet. After this, it became a grey mist.

All he remembered from there was walking through destroyed land, running, fighting, killing, tearing metal apart, crunching organic matter, shooting and burning.

The pain in his head, the memories, the voices.

And of course the being who was always on his side, the voice that was always in his mind, the other seeker next to him.

"Starscream", he heard the voice. He saw the other seeker appearing next to him, looking like he always did. A seeker from a different model line than himself, but very similar built, his armour was mostly blue, brown and black, with a few silver parts. His optics looked angrily at him.

Starscream would recognise this robot always and everywhere, it was the former air commander Skylord, the dead formers air commander.

"I have a surprise for you", the phantom told him mockingly. "Megatron had arrived on this planet. He had come for you. What do you think, should we let him find you or not?"

"Why can´t you simply let me alone?" Starscream screamed at the dead seeker.

"Let you alone? Wait, Starscream, let me see.

Were you not the one who had killed me? Have you not murdered me when I was shot down and wounded?

Why, why in the world should I let you alone?" The visitation was now yelling at him.

_The Air Commander Skylord was lying on the side of the battlefield. He was able to transform back into robot mode. He had been defeated. As Megatron´s order to retreat came, everybody who was able followed it. Skylord had told his seekers before the battle that they could not expect anybody to help them…_

_Skylord noticed that someone was standing next to him. A hand was offered to him and after a moment he took it. As he looked up he saw the face of Starscream. The young seeker was smiling at him. This young talented recruit had come to help him, Skylord realised. While it wasn´t a good thing that one of his warriors, especially a so new one, would see him in this state. He was glad that someone saw him and came to help. And he was glad that Starscream showed his loyalty in this way. He knew that this robot had great potential and could be one of the best fliers of all times. Skylord would be more than happy to help this young seeker with his carrier._

_In this moment he realised that he was looking in Starscream´s gun. The young seeker was still smiling. The discharge of his weapon was the last thing Skylord ever saw. 1_

"You have killed me like a coward, when I was down and couldn´t fight back."

Yes, but that is the point. I did kill you. You are long gone, so vanish out of my life.

You had been shot down in battle, you had your chance and failed."

"Starscream, Starscream, do you remember how all this started? Then you were still a innocent mech.

A scene appeared before Starscream´s eyes. It was a long time ago. The scene actually appeared before him. It wasn´t the first time he saw his memories since he came to this planet.

_He saw a younger version of himself and with him two other he knew all too well, a femme, who was standing next to him and a large white mech._

_Both were gone by now. The femme was a seeker like him, very much like him actually and the mech was a very large shuttle, a scientist, a prominent and respected citizen and for some reason, he knew the seeker femme._

_"Please Skyfire, take him in", the femme pleaded, "you know who is after me. You can protect him, offer him a better life, give him a chance."_

_The large mech looked uneasy at her. The femme had tried for some time to convince him._

_"I will do what I can Starfall", he finally assured her._

_"This is Starscream, he is my youngest creation", the femme introduced him._

_"I am on the run Skyfire. He is better of with you. But nobody can know where he comes from."_

_"I will take him as my pupil", the large mech told her, "he could become a scientist like me."_

_"Thank you Skyfire."_

Starscream was back in the present.

"But we both know how that ended", the being next to him told him.

xxxxxxx

The Autobots had landed. Two of them had staid behind to guard the shuttle. The rest of them were gone with Optimus to search for the Decepticon troop and the source of the help call. The had seperated in small groups to search more effective.

Ironhide was walking through a line of destroyed buildings. Since he had arrived, he had a strange feeling and it only became worse. It was nearly as if he could hear voices in the air, calling for him.

As he had came to this building, he could actually hear it.

"Ironhide."

And now, he could see a figure coming out from one of the ruins.

XXCCCC

(1: Scene from „Time circle" chapter 8)

The character Starfall was created by 9aza. I am using it with permission, including several changes in backstory.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"So, maybe you will finally tell us now what is going on on this planet", Megatron asked the native woman who was leading them.

"Yes, it is time you hear everything", the woman replied.

The Decepticons had agreed to let this humanoid guide them to her master, as she called it. They were right now slowly converging to a large building complex that for some reason seemed less destroyed than the area around it.

"My name is Xaaras", the woman told them. "I was once a scientist, a part of a group that was involved into a secret project, before all this started."

"Excuse me, how long was that ago?" Skywarp asked curious.

"About 11 years of my world."

"That are only 10 cybertronian years."

"That is impossible", Thundercracker fell in, "by the rate of the atomic disintegration, this destruction must have happened at least hundred years ago."

"It is his presence, it changes things", she told them.

"And who is this he?" Megatron wanted to know.

xxxxxxx

"Ironhide."

Ironhide saw the robot coming out of the dark corridor. The figure was forming out of the shadows. He realised who was standing before him, he couldn´t believe it.

It was his formers group leader Def Charger. But Def Charger died two vorn ago. He was shot before his eyes.

"Ironhide, my old comrade", the robot greeted him. He was smiling.

"No, that is impossible. I saw you die."

"Yes, I was shot by a rogue Decepticon", the smile of Def Chargers face vanished, "and you stood simple at the side, doing nothing. You let me die", he accused him.

"That is not true, the were far to powerful for us. We couldn´t do anything." Ironhide defended himself.

"You did nothing. I was your comrade, your commander, your friend", Ironhide´s spark pained with every word this ghost told him, "and you let me die."

The scene reappeared before Ironhide. He saw the Decepticon standing directly before his commander, aiming his cannon at him and shooting.

Def Chargers head exploded and his corpse fell down. Just like the last time. He didn´t hear him falling, only the explosion. Ironhide looked at the body on the ground.

Then he heard laughing all around him.

xxxxxxx

"As I said, we were a certain group of scientists", Xaaras told the Decepticons. "This world consisted once of four large states, that were all united in a single alliance."

"Our team had been recruited by our government. We had been involved in a special project. A secret experiment that should have brought our nation´s technological development on the top of this planet´s."

"Of course, be only in a alliance if you are the strongest partner in it", Megatron said.

"What kind of an experiment was that?" He wanted to know.

"Hyperspace manipulation", she replied, "a passage created by an over strong gravitation field. To make it short, we opened a gate, a gate to another dimension."

"You teared a hole in our universe", Thundercracker commented.

"Yes", she stated. Her voice sounded hollow. "We had hoped to use the hyperspace as an energy source. But it hadn´t happened as planned."

xxxxxxx

The Autobots were still searching the area and despite that they were holding relative close range, they somehow managed to loose sight from each other.

Ironhide and two others hadn´t departed too much from the shuttle to keep contact, while Optimus group had moved a far longer distance. But now even a few of the members of the same group could hardly see each other anymore. It was as if the darkness and the duty air had separated them from each other.

Ironhide was still confronted with the appearance of his former commander. The rational part of his mind knew that this couldn´t be the real Def Charger. But that didn´t change the fear it had awakened in him.

He realised that the half of Def Chargers head was missing now. Inside he culd see the sparking, damaged circuity.

"No", he yelled, "that has to be some Decepticon trick.

"You little fool", the being who looked like Def Charger told him.

Ironhide could all too good remember it, the hidden fear and terror as his friend and superior was killed before his eyes and he was not able to do anything without it.

He felt that he was grabbed from behind.

xxxxxxx

The Decepticons came now closer to the buildings. Something told them that this was their destination.

"What exactly went wrong?" Megatron asked.

"We had not only opened a gate to another dimension", Xaaras explained to the Decepticons, "something came through to us."

xxxxxxx

Ironhide recognised the rogue leader. The large purple form, in the same size as Megatron and Optimus Prime, the crowned helmet, the cannon, everything.

The Decepticon put his end on Ironhide´s throat and lifted him up.

"Little Autobot", the robot said to him.

Ironhide screamed.

xxxxxxx

Optimus group was following the energy signatures of the Decepticons, they could find. They were coming to a large building complex that for some reason seemed less destroyed than the area around it.

Suddenly Optimus Prime thought he saw something beside them, next to the way they were walking on. It was dark and the air was full of dust, it was hard to see something, even for robots. As he stepped closer, Optimus realised what it was, heads.

It were the heads of a half dozen natives, stuck on spears.

For a moment he looked at the horrific picture before him. Then he turned around to the others. They were gone. All he could see was the thick veil of the dusty atmosphere.

"Ultra Magnus, Kup", he called them. Nobody answered. It was as if he was cut off from the others.

xxx

Ultra Magnus had lost sight of the other Autobots. From one second to the next, they were not longer to see.

Then he saw someone coming. Three figures shaped out of the mist. But they weren´t Autobots.

They were large, heavily armed mechs, Decepticons. Their armour was colored in purple and blue. It were three Transformers he hadn´t seen for over two vorn, since he was rebuilt, since he ceased to be Dion and became Ultra Magnus.

He never knew what they wanted, only that they were there and their threat. He knew that they were powerful. They killed Def Charger without anybody being able to do anything. Far too powerful for him to have any chance.

He knew they were one of the things he feared.

xxxxxxx

The Decepticons had arrived before a large hall. In opposite to the Autobots, they had no problems with their sight.

As if the planet wanted them to find their destination.

"At first, we wanted to contain the creature in a restricted area. It was unique, a entity, seemingly being of pure energy. It was a discovery from unlimited worth", Xaaras explained to them.

"But we underestimated it badly. It was not only intelligent, probably far more than us, it was also powerful. It didn´t take long time until it longed out, influencing, changing."

"What do you mean with that?" Thundercracker asked nervously.

"At first, the creature showed mental powers, people around it were showing strange behaviour, went insane. A few run amok and started killing other colleagues. The mind of a few of them was twisted to the point that the became only drones under his control.

His power however went far beyond that. It was able to manipulate reality itself. Both, things and people, changed without recognition."

"Changed? How do you mean that?" Megatron asked. Even his voice betrayed now a trace of uneasiness.

"You will see"; Xaaras answered him.

"Then the effect widened out", she looked at the Decepticons, "over our entire world."

The Transformers and the native were now standing before a large door.

"Mass murder, riots, genocide and madness. In the final stage he took control of the nuclear weapons of this world and turned them against their own planet."

"I understand and how comes it that you are still alive?" Megatron asked her. "Or be like the creatures out there."

Xaaras smiled.

"Simply, I made an agreement with the creature."

_Xaaras was standing behind an older man, one of the other scientists. "He" was quickly starting to gain his influence. The man was visibly worried. She laid an arm on his shoulder._

"I was allowed to stay alive and my mind was kept intact. In exchange I agreed to become his minion. All I had to sacrifice were a few unimportant affiliations."

_In the other hand she held a long knife. She cut the man´s throat._

_Xaaras was kneeling on the floor and pledging her alliance, sitting in a pile of blood. Next to her were lying two dead bodies._

"And more", she said. Xaaras looked upwards, directly in Megatron´s eyes. "Eternal life and the fulfilment of all my wishes."

xxxxxxx

Optimus heard something behind him, steps. It stopped. Someone was standing directly behind his back.

He turned around and the energon in his fuel line froze.

xxxxxxx

"So you are, to call it short, a collaborator", Megatron stated.

"Whatever you want to call it", a voice was to hear. The source seemed to be inside the building. But at the same time it seemed to come from other directions too.

It was the same voice that had spoken to Thundercracker and Skywarp through Roughstart´s dead body, the same voice that called to Optimus and Ultra Magnus for help.

"Fact is however, that you can with me on your side destroy all your enemies and reach all your aims."

"And who guarantees me that you actually have this great powers your servant is talking about?"

"For your sake, a little demonstration. Go inside."

The Decepticons entered the building. Inside they found a long, grey corridor with prison cells on both sides.

"No", Skywarp pressed out.

"Skywarp?" Megatron addressed the jet. "You know this place."

"We lived here", he answered.

"Where are we?"

"Under the main building of the construction plants of SkyRay industries"

"The company that had constructed you?"

"SkyRay was one of the largest concerns on Cybertron before the war. Back in the time of the first Decepticon uprising, before the so called golden age, it was the main manufacturers of seekers and air units for both sides. Soon, the company became greedy and corrupted. The leadership of both factions were paying them horrendous sums. Neither of them dared to go against the company. Both needed them.

After the war was over, there was not longer a great need for seekers. But since they were payed by the government and had their hands very deep in the same government, they continued too produce.

Many of the seekers they had built were then thrown away, right after their creation to rot as empties on the streets", Skywarp explained.

The voice of the seeker showed every bit of the anger he felt.

"I already know all of that", Megatron stated.

"We have never told you the entire truth", Thundercracker told him. "We weren´t two of these seekers."

"We were experimental prototypes. Better, stronger and our special abilities. Models like us were to useful to be cast out. We were kept here. Thundercracker and I were meant to spend our entire life's in this cells. They wanted to devolve our abilities to other seekers, studied and tested us."

They heard a scream in a short distance, around the corner.

"Come", Skywarp said.

They saw a seeker hanging in a bizarre looking apparatus Horrified they realised that he was been taken apart piece by peace.

"I remember when this one was brought away. They wanted to use his ability for mass production and dissected him for it."

All of them starred at the scene. But they knew there was nothing to do. This was only an illusion. All that happened years ago.

The tortured robot vanished. Instead another shape appeared. Next to one of the cells, another seeker. It was a female.

"No, not that, not her", Thundercracker said toneless.

"Who was she?" Megatron asked.

"She was our creator", Skywarp answered. "Her name was Starfall. She was one of the earlier models, one of the first of our line."

"Me, Thundercracker and a few others, we were created from her spark and built with her schematics as base. We were her children if you say so. All of us were held here."

"What happened?" Megatron asked.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, I will bring you out of here. You must hurry."

"She helped us escape. One day Starfall showed up and opened our cell. She had been long enough here to find a way to escape. Thundercracker and me had to fought our way out. From there on we lived our life on the streets like you know.

A short time later, we heard that Starfall had fled too and she joined us.

We had heart from her that she had brought another, younger creation out. She had sent him away, hide him by some mech she knew, so that SkyRay wouldn´t find him."

He didn´t mention that this creation was no one else than the missing air commander Starscream.

"We three lived then together in the outskirts of Kaon for some time. Until I and Thundercracker joined you."

Megatron said nothing for a few moments. Even for him was that a lot to take in.

"I understand", he finally said.

"Soundwave", Megatron addressed the communicator. He didn´t get an answer.

The large blue Decepticon said nothing.

"Soundwave", he tried again, silence. "Soundwave what is with you?"

Soundwave didn´t answer. He didn´t knew what to say, didn´t knew what to do.

He only knew one thing, he was terrified.

xxxxxxx

The Autobots were still walking around. Having lost contact to a few members.

"Have you seen Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus?" Kup asked his two remaining companions.

"They can not be far away, they had just been here."

The Autobots were about to find what they searched for.

XXXCCC

About the cybertronian time units. In case you don´t know.

A vorn is a period of ca. 82 years. Others would be breem = 8,3 minutes and cicle (As far as I know a day)

Technically, Cybertron doesn´t have a years, since it is not circling a sun. For this story, I go by the Idea that

the Cybertron year is about equal to ours.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Soundwave heard Megatron´s order, but he didn´t do anything. He knew it was senseless. Megatron wanted him to view this place with his sonic scanners. He wanted to know if the things they saw here were real or an illusion.

But that was exactly the problem. He already did it. Soundwave had used them since the had first entered the room. And he couldn´t tell.

According to his instruments, the room before him was real. The hall, the cells, the seeker femme they had seen. All that had physical mass by that his scanners told him.

But he knew that was not possible. This rooms were on Cybertron, before the war, vorns ago. They were long gone. His senses however told him they were here, now.

Was this mysterious creature able to actually create matter for such a perfect replication or was it simply able to deceive his sensors?

Soundwave wasn´t even sure what would be the worse possibility.

He didn´t know what was real anymore, he who had always known the things around him, who was usually in control of the situation. And that scarred him.

But something was even worse. Normally he would be able to rely on his telepathic abilities to tell truth from illusion. He was under normal circumstances able to read the minds of thoughts of practically all mechanical life forms and a few others too.

This time however it was different. His telepathy didn´t work like it should have.

Soundwave knew that the seeker femme they had just seen had been an illusion. She had to be. But he had none of his senses to confirm this. For Soundwave, it was as if he had been blinded.

All he could sense was a single thing. One thought that dominated the entire place around them. It was like a background sound that overwhelmed everything else.

A single line of thoughts that was more intensive and more terrifying than anything else he ever felt.

It was a feeling of deep hate, anger and rage, so strong like he had never felt it before. Even in the years of the war, he had never known anything comparable. And a grieving, a hunger for something Soundwave couldn´t even identity. This feeling originated here, he was sure of it, but it spread out, radiated, it filled the entire area, as far as Soundwave´s sensors reached. He had no doubt, this creature had destroyed this entire planet and it did it just for the sake of the destruction itself.

xxxxxxx

Optimus had been separated from his group, but he had been found by someone or something. He couldn´t believe who was standing before him, but he recognised the blue armoured mech easily, even if he never met him in person.

It was Sentinel Prime, the Autobot who had been leader before him. But it wasn´t the Sentinel, like he was known from the recordings.

The left side of his face was ripped away and one of his optics was missing. His chassis was full of dents and bruises and in the middle of his chest was a large hole.

He looked more dead than alive.

"You", the robot said to Optimus. His voice was raspy and hollow and somehow empty.

"You are the one who came after me."

"Yes, I am Optimus Prime."

"I", he broke up in mid-sentence, as if it was hard for him to talk. "I pity you. You will lose so many Autobots. All your burden, your responsibility. Everything I had once. I truly pity you."

"Why are you saying that?" Optimus had to ask this question. Despite that, he had the feeling, no he knew deep down, that this wasn´t the real Sentinel Prime. It was something else, a very well made simulation.

The robot looked at him with an emotionless expression. Something that really didn´t match with the Sentinel Prime he has heard of. His one optic gazed menacingly.

"You will lose everything. Everybody who is close to you will die."

The "Sentinel Prime" being explained to him. "Look."

Optimus saw Elita One standing a short distance beside him. He knew that was impossible, Elita was still on Cybertron. Another illusion or had this being, whatever it was, the power to transport her here? As small as the chance was, could he really risk it?

Suddenly the earth under her feet started to beak apart. A rift was opening in the ground and Elita fell.

Optimus jumped for to catch her hand. This had happened once before. It was nearly the same situation. During the battle of kalis, years ago.

But this time it went different when back then. This time, nobody came in time to save her.

Optimus was too late. He saw how Elita fell into the glowing lava, hundreds of metres below him. It was hard to make her out down there. To see through the dusty air was already difficult. He heard her screams. The last thing he saw how her chassis began to melt down in the burning liquid and she drowned.

Optimus saw at the form of the robot before him.

"That was an illusion", he pointed out.

"Are you sure?" Sentinel asked him.

xxx

Ultra Magnus was standing in opposite to the three Decepticons. He couldn´t see either Optimus or Kup, despite that he had lost sight of them for only a few moments.

The leader of the three stepped for and addressed Magnus. He was a large, purple robot, in the same size and with a similar stature as Megatron. His helmet had the form of a three spiked crown and on his forearm was a large cannon mounted.

"So we meet again Autobot."

Ultra Magnus remembered this voice all too well. It was one of the first things he had heard in this body. Once he had been a simple dock worker along with his friend Orion, now Optimus Prime. Then he had been rebuild as a warrior, after nearly been killed in Megatron´s raid.

He had never found out about their motives or why they got involved with his recreation.

"Ultra Magnus, we have been waiting for you", the very large jet robot, standing at the right to his leader said.

"Are you here to kill me too?" Magnus asked them.

The leader smiled. "Yes, it is your destiny."

xxxxxx

The replica of the cells in the underground of the SkyRay company on Cybertron vanished before the eyes of the Decepticons. Instead they were now standing in the middle of a large cybertronian town, a burning town.

They all recognised this scenario easily. It was the city of kaon. The first of Cybertron´s great cities that fell to the Decepticons, their first great victory. They all had been there. Back then when the war started. It was all like they remembered.

Seekers were bombing the place from the air while ground forces were attacking at the same time and killing everything that came in their range. The defenders were outpowered and outgunned. Hundreds of dead Autobots were lieing in the streets, hundreds of others were desperately fleeing the city.

"Xaaras has told you why she had led you here?" The voice of the mysterious being that was behind everything that had happened on this planet and obviously it´s mysterious obliteration.

"Yes, you want to offer an alliance", Megatron answered.

"That is right. Bring me off this planet and together we can conquer this universe."

While they were speaking, they all could see how the defending Autobot forces were overwhelmed and the entire city destroyed. They all had seen it before. Skywarp and Thundercracker had seen their old selves under the attacking seekers.

Megatron´s first large campaign had been a great victory. Such a victory that the Autobot government had, in their panic, tried to keep it a secret or at least downplay it in public. With disastrous consequences for their side. The outcome was that a great part of the Autobot population wasn´t even aware of the attacks until the Decepticon had already a large part of the planet under their control.

Only a half year later, Megatron started his attack on Iacon itself and was for the first time confronted with Optimus Prime.

And had, without knowing it, created his own worst enemy. Optimus Prime was in fact the rebuilt form of a dockworker, Megatron had shot during one of his energon raids.

The five Decepticons were still watching how the last Autobot forces were whipped out.

"That's it. I have seen enough", Megatron said loud. "It is not hard to guess that you have taken this scenes from our own memories. I admit that I am impressed by your ability to create illusions", he pointed out.

The Decepticon leader led a few seconds of silence follow his words. It was easy to guess what he wanted, it was a bait.

"Oh I assure you that I have more to offer than just illusions. That you have seen is just a part of my power." The creature had understood.

The old scenario disappeared. They were now standing in a large empty hall. Like the outside of the building had suggested. This seemed to be the reality. Of course there was no way to be sure.

The Decepticons looked around. If this was the real world, then they should be able now to see the real appearance of their possible ally.

After a few moments they saw something that looked like a dark glowing ball of energy levitating right under the ceiling. The sphere shot down in the blink of an eye and reformed itself into a new shape. Now it looked now like a living shadow. It seemed to have arms and legs, but it´s entire body consisted of the same dark half-substance that the sphere consisted of before.

At the Decepticons were now looking two deep red eyes, of the same color as the blood of so many organic species.

xxxxxx

"No", Optimus called out angrily, "that is all not real. You are an imitation, the real Sentinel Prime is long dead and I know that Elita is not here."

"Really?"

He heard someone coming.

"Optimus", someone was calling him. It were Ultra Magnus and Kup. They had found him.

But in the moment the two Autobots became visible, the Sentinel lookalike were shooting an powerful energy blast from his hand. The shot ripped right through Magnus chest, a second blast killed Kup in exactly the same matter.

"No", Optimus called out. Deep down he knew it was only an illusion again, but he couldn´t help it. He kneeled next to the fallen forms of his friends.

A moment later the two bodies turned to dust.

"I knew it", Optimus said quietly.

"Yes, I admit this was only an illusion", the Sentinel creature told him, "but it could truly happen. You know it. This it what you fear in every second of your life since you became leader, isn´t it? That your friends, your Autobots die because you couldn´t act or make the wrong decisions, right?"

The creature saw in Optimus eyes, it knew it had a point.

For a moment, something happened. Optimus vision and his mind became dark. He didn´t knew what was real and what was illusion anymore, he didn´t knew if the others were alive or dead.

For a moment he didn´t even knew where he was anymore. The force that flooded this place had gotten to him.

All he knew was that he heard a voice speaking to him. His mind was clouded, he was tired, very tired.

"The leadership, the pressure, it is that thought that brings you pain every second of your life", the voice told him and he knew it was right.

He knew the voice meant well.

"The object, the one that Alpha Trion gave you, that you have received with your leadership, when all your pain started", the voice said.

The Matrix, Optimus remembered.

The leadership, the years of war, the many death, he only wanted it all to end.

"The symbol for all your pain. Why don´t you give it up?"

As he said this words, the robot who looked like Sentinel Prime held out his hand to him.

xxxxxx

"You want to see more than illusions?" The creature asked Megatron.

"Yes."

"You will see that I have far more to offer, but especially you should realise the possibilities of my mental projections alone."

"I do, but I would like to see everything."

"Good, how about as an demonstration I could destroy the Autobots that are on this planet right now?"

"What?" Megatron called out.

"Didn´t you know? The Autobots had followed you on this planet. An entire strike force of them is on the surface."

"Damn."

"If I destroy them for you, will you then agree to my offer for an alliance?"

"Yes, destroy them and I accept", Megatron answered.

With that he said the words Soundwave had feared.

"I see, there is only one problem", the creature told them.

xxxxxxx

"The matrix, give it to me and your pain will end forever. You know that I want only the best for you, right?" The creature said to him, smiling.

It was so easy, Optimus thought, give the matrix to the one who had it before you, led down leadership, don´t lose friends, give up your burden, your responsibilities, be free.

Suddenly a blue light broke out of Optimus body. It streamed through his entire form. His mind became clear again.

"No", he screamed. He remembered everything again. "I won´t give you anything, least of all the matrix."

The light was now radiating from Optimus across the entire area. With that the dark fog over the place lifted in part. It was possible to see again.

Sentinel Prime´s figure broke apart as it was hit by the light and vanished.

xxxxxxx

"The problem is Megatron", the shadow creature before the Decepticons continued, "I know that you are lieing. I can see it in your mind. You had never any intention to help me to get off this planet or to agree to an alliance."

The Decepticons looked all surprised to their leader. Yes he was right, Megatron thought. He had gotten a grasp of how dangerous this creature truly was and he had no intention in any form to help it to leave this planet.

There was a suspicion on his mind, a unclear nagging suspicion that wouldn´t take concrete form yet.

"You wanted to see my powers Megatron, you have it."

From the figure shot something that looked like flashes of lightning out and hit the seekers.

"Megatron", Thundercracker called out. He had taken the worst part of the hit. Megatron and Skywarp were finally able to bring him out of the line of fire.

Then the room around them was beginning to change again.

xxxxxxx

"I have told you I don´t need to hear your opinion about everything, I am doing. I should know, I have killed you after all." Starscream was yelling at the figure that had been following for the last months.

Whatever he was doing, the late former air commander would never leave his side. A robot he himself had killed.

"So you don´t wan´t me to tell you about the Autobots?" Skylord asked him mockingly.

"Autobots?" Starscream called out.

"Yes, Autobots, they had found the colony you had destroyed, they have been following you, they are after you. You know that don´t you?"

"No, they won´t get me. I will destroy them all. I will destroy them and show you who is the better one of us. I will show you that I am the only one worthy to be air commander."

"Yes Starscream, destroy them and I will admit that you are more than worthy to be my successor, destroy them and I will let you alone."

xxxxxxx

Ultra Magnus was still cornered by his three enemies. They had still made no actual move to attack yet.

He knew, to run into this three on some dead world like this was more than a strange coincidence. Magnus began to ask himself if this wasn´t some sort of trick, being played on his mind.

In that moment he heard Optimus coming. The Autobot leader appeared. Magnus saw that some strange light was coming from him.

"Optimus Prime", the leader of the three Decepticons said as he saw the newcomer.

The jet robot at his side pointed at Ultra Magnus.

"I look out to see you", he said.

Then the three figures suddenly vanished in the mist. From one moment to the other they were not longer there.

"Optimus, is that really you?"

"Yes, it is me."

"Have you seen them?" Magnus asked.

"Yes."

"What is going on on this planet?"

"I don´t know Magnus."

At the place were the three robots had been standing, suddenly appeared something else. Something that looked like a solid shadow. Whatever it was, it was obviously alive.

"I see you two have followed my call", the creature said to them. It´s red eyes were looking at the Autobots.

"That was you?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Yes and you came like anticipated."

"What do you want from us?" Optimus asked. "It was you wasn´t it? You pretended to be Sentinel Prime and caused everything else."

The creature gave a loud from it that sounded like a laughing.

"Who are you?" Optimus wanted to know. "What are you?"

"I am the master of this world, I have created it in the way it is now. And now, you can come to appreciate my work."

The two Autobots could see something else in some distance, the air became clearer around them. As they came closer, they saw what it was.

Before them were the mutilated corpses of then nine missing Decepticons. Their chassis's were ripped apart, their inserts pulled out, hands, optics or heads were missing.

From their position it was clear that the had killed each other. One of the corpses had his hand deep into the chest of one of the other robots, while the other had been trying to pull part of his face off.

But what was even more terrifying was lieing behind them. In the same state as the nine Decepticons, entire mountains of hundreds and more hundreds of slaughtered organics.

XXXCC

If someone had realised it, the three renegade Decepticons who first Ironhide and when Ultra Magnus were confronted with are no other then Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge, who had time travelled 9.000.000 years in the past and were around at Ultra Magnus creation. They are however never referred to by name.

The background of the time travell of Galvatron an his leutenants is explained in the chapters 3 to 8 of the story time circle.

The Autobot group leader Def Charger and former air commander Skylord are two of my OC´s. They both were invented for time circle and also found their demise there. Only to return as ghosts in this story.

Starfall is like I said a OC of 9aza, which I have borrowed, because this character was very fitting for what I planned for the seekers.

Many Transformers are confronted here with figures from their own past, who represent a part of their history or of their own fears.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The endless forms of dead bodies filled the area as wide as you could see. Killed organics and Transformers. The Autobots didn´t even knew if this was real or just another illusion.

"You did this?" Optimus Prime asked the creature, who was still next to them.

"I reformed this world in my image", he answered. Then he vanished from sight. From one moment to the next, he was no longer there.

The Autobots could only stare at the endless field of corpses.

"Ultra Magnus", Optimus said, "call the others."

xxxxxxx

Megatron and his group were captured in their nightmares.

After the energy attack that caught them off guard, the place around them had changed again.

Skywarp saw that he stood on a large place in a town on Cybertron.

He remembered how Megatron had only pretended to agree to the offer of an alliance. A wise decision probably, after seeing what this creature can do.

But it looked through his lie easily and attacked them.

And now he was here. He remembered this happening.

Skywarp saw himself, standing next to Thundercracker, on a podium in the middle of a cybertronian amphitheater.

Megatron sat on his throne above them.

A robot in energon chains was kneeling on the podium in front of the Decepticon leader. The two seekers were standing on his sides.

Skywarp remembered this perfectly. His moment of revenge.

The robot kneeling between them was the leader of the SkyRay company.

Many of his seeker brothers were created by this organisation as sole property, some like himself were imprisoned and used for their purposes. He, Thundercracker and their creator had been hiding for years.

But now it was over.

Skywarp and Thundercracker had joined Megatron´s new uprising of warrior-line Transformers, the Decepticons, they were called. After the take-over of Kaon, one of his first aims in the war was to take control of SkyRay and use it´s seeker production for his own goals. Skywarp and Thundercracker had provided him with all the information they had about the company. With their help, it wasn´t hard for Megatron to SkyRay apart.

At this point, he had already brought down and overtaken it and Skywarp and Thundercracker were now about to receive a reward for their loyalty.

The kneeling Transformer was a blue eyed robot of obvious Autobot heritage. But he didn´t wear a mark.

So he was a neutral. No, Skywarp thought.

Starfall was a neutral. She didn´t refused to be part of the two factions because she couldn´t completely agree with the aims of one of them.

This was just a coward who didn´t have a badge because he didn´t have the guts to wear one.

"Megatron, wait", they robot tried to pledge for his life, "you don´t need to do that. I, my company could help you. With SkyRay under your control, you could easily win this war."

Megatron smiled.

"I have to say that is a tempting offer. And you are right, with SkyRay and it´s air forces, I could take over Cybertron."

The prisoner looked slightly relieved for a moment.

"The problem is however that I already have SkyRay under my control", Megatron continued. "So the only thing that is of no use for me here", the Decepticon leader told him, "is you."

The captives face showed an expression of shock as he registered what he had just heard.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker", Megatron ordered.

They draw their guns.

The expression turned now to fear and sheer panic. A scream was to hear as both seekers fired their guns simultaneous.

Yes, Skywarp remembered all this very good. He was obviously trapped in another one of this memories. What he didn´t knew was why.

And he had enough of this.

"No", he murmured, "I won´t any longer go along with this. I know that you can hear me", he yelled. "Do you know something? I will just sit down here and relax."

With this words, he just laid against the simulated wall of the amphitheater and crossed his arms.

"Show me whatever you want, I will just stay here and enjoy the show", he said with a smirk.

xxxxxxx

Ironhide didn´t remember how he came to this place. He was captured in a cage that was made of some sort of ranks that were growing out of the ground.

Outside of the cage, he saw a small organic female standing. She had long black hair and her skin looked somewhat reptilian, Ironhide realised.

"Oh, the robot had awakened", she said with a hollow sheerfulness.

"Who are you, where I am?"

"You have questions. That is only understandable. You will find out soon enough Prepare the specimen", she said to someone behind him.

As he looked around, he saw the form of Def Charger standing next to the cage. Half of his head was still missing. Ironhide had realised by now that this wasn´t his former commander, but something that looked like him.

"Yes Xaaras", the thing said. It´s voice sounded like eroded metal.

The cage began to move around him, the slings were coming closer to him, more slings were growing out of the ground.

"You should know that I was once a scientist", the female told him, "and it will be a pleasure for me to examine you."

xxxxxxx

Thundercracker couldn´t help the ice-cold feeling he had inside. After they were attacked, he found himself in a cybertronian apartment.

He knew this room. Before the war, he had lived here.

It was a place at the border of the city Vos, close to the outskirts of Cybertron. After they had fled from SkyRay, he, Skywarp and Starfall had lived here for a few years.

Thundercracker knew exactly what he would find as he walked through the rooms. He tried to prepare himself, but it didn't help to ease the feeling.

Several years after he and Skywarp had joined the Decepticons, they had heard that a force of Autobots, led by a rouge commander had attacked Vos and destroyed the greatest part of the city. The sector had been under complete Decepticon control at that time.

They killed everyone, Decepticon, neutral, even a few robots with Autobot heritage, only based on the idea that they had to be Decepticon sympathisers because they lived here.

Thundercracker knew it before he saw her mutilated corpse again. Exactly where they had found her the first time.

The only small consolation was that the leader of this attack and his two lieutenants were found dead a few days later, Thundercracker remembered.

Yes, maybe somebody had already decided to take revenge on his own, either that or maybe somebody had simply tried to keep them from talking.

"I am sorry", Thundercracker said. "I should have been here."

"I know you were against it, when Skywarp and I joined the Decepticons. You thought it was senseless to go to war."

"I should have been there", he said in a sad tone.

He knew that all this was in fact only an illusion, only something to trap his mind.

Why had the creature decided to show him this of all things?

xxxxxxx

Kup and Grim-Side had joined Optimus and Magnus.

"Where is Ironhide?" Optimus asked.

"I don´t know", Kup answered, "he suddenly vanished."

"We have to find him."

"Does that mean our mission is over?" Grim-Side asked, looking at the dead Decepticons.

"Starscream is still missing", Kup gave to think.

"Even if he is still alive, he is probably lost in this hell too", Ultra Magnus told him.

"We will be lucky if we will make it out of here ourselfs."

"Magnus is right. It should be obvious by now that this planet is a death trap. We have to get back to the shuttle as long as we still can", Optimus said. "Wait, do you hear this?"

They heard it. It was as if something was moving in the near. They realised that it was coming from the many corpses next to them.

xxxxxxx

Megatron awoke. It was dark. As he looked around, he started to see things. He was lying on a large, metallic table, he realised. Inside, he shuddered unconsciously. He knew this room.

It was one of the few places he never wanted to see again. This was the place were he had been created. And he had just been activated for the first time.

He was standing up. Megatron knew what was coming to him.

He realised that a group of construction robots was leaving the room. Yes, just like the first time he remembered.

As the last of the robots had left the room, he heard a voice.

This voice was one of the few things, he still feared, one that he had grown to hate.

"You are awake my creation", it said, "good."

Megatron stepped for. He saw a very large shadow behind a darkened glass window, were the voice came from. The last time, he had talked to the voice, greeted his creator.

This time, he didn´t bother.

"You are the latest and highest developed model of the warrior line, one of the strongest cybertronians ever built", the voice told him, "your name is Megatron."

Back then he actually felt pride about this words. But he knew what came next.

Megatron remembered how back then he had asked the voice who he was. The answer he received was simple, his creator, his liege.

He spent the next minutes, testing his basic systems, then the voice addressed him again.

"I am really proud of you my creation and now it is about time to put your worth to a test."

Three other robots came into the room. They were obviously fighter models too.

All of them were armed. Megatron knew that he had an energon sword and a heavy blaster at his disposal. His CPU gave him this information. It was a automatic function in sight of the armed warriors.

The next command was something Megatron would never forget.

"Kill him", the voice said to the three.

The robots attacked at once, without hesitation. Only minutes after his creation, he was already fighting for his life, because his own creator wanted it in this way.

Megatron remembered.

He didn´t feel pride anymore, he didn´t feel affection for the one who brought him into existence just a short time before.

He felt nothing, nothing besides a deep, growling anger.

_Megatron remembered how it was the first time._

_He remembered how he cut through one of the warriors, how he shot another one,_

_How he ripped one the head off with his bare hands and shot into his dead body._

_He didn´t stop until he had killed all three and ripped their bodies to pieces._

_Until he heard the voice again._

"_Good, very good my son. You make me really proud of you."_

_Megatron looked angrily at the source of the voice. From that point on, he felt only hate for it´s owner._

But the Megatron in the present acted differently.

He knew that this was all only an illusion, to distract him, to intimidate him or to terrify him.

But he would not be terrified, he would not be intermidated and he would certainly not be distracted. He wouldn´t fall for it.

Megatron faced the three robots and shouted.

"No this is all not real. I know that you are behind this. I am tired of your games, so end it. End it now", he screamed.

This was the end. The illusion around him shattered. First it looked as if there were several glowing bursts in the air around him. Then the false reality broke apart.

He saw that Skywarp, Thundercracker and Soundwave were again standing beside him.

"Are you all back?" Megatron asked.

"Yes", Skywarp answered.

xxxxxxx

Optimus and his group couldn´t believe what they were seeing the destroyed chassis's of the nine Decepticons and many of the corpses of the organics were starting to reform themselves and move.

Dead metal formed legs, limbs and connected with rotten flesh to form a hidennous body.

It was moving by itself, controlled by the mind that was ruling this world.

The outcome was an abomination, a bizarre zombie creature, built up of parts of mechanical and organic life.

The monster had four large, metallic legs and sharp claws, made from ripped off body parts of the robots. There was no visible head, only a deformed body, but on it were hanging several dead faces.

It had no intelligence, no mind of it´s own, it was only a drone.

The Autobots starred at the thing before them, they couldn´t say a word, they couldn´t move.

The creature threw one of it´s claws down at them. It caught Grim-Side with it´s stroke. The sharp claw ripped through his chest. He was dead in an instant.

"No", Optimus yelled.

The Autobots finally reacted and opened fire. They evaded a few other attacks of the thing.

Ultra Magnus damaged one of the legs and Optimus was with a well placed shot able to rip one of the claws off.

xxxxxxx

Three Autobots had been left behind to guard the shuttle. One of them had walked a short distance away. He thought he had heard something.

Since they had arrived, he had a strange feeling. They had lost contact with Optimus Prime and the others, a short time after they left.

Something was happening, he knew this, something wasn´t right on this planet.

He had started to see things, to hear voices. Only small details at first.

But this time, it was different. At first he had only heard something from the ruins before him. He went in the direction of the noise, but it became louder and louder, until he was no longer standing on that planet.

He was standing in the middle of a burning city, he was back on Cybertron.

No, not that, he thought. He recognised this place.

It was the attack on the city of Vos, it was something he would rather forget.

His commander was the one who had led the attack. He remembered how they went through the city, he remembered how they killed everyone, first the Decepticons, then the ones without a badge, then the Autobots who simply had been seen with Decepticons.

He remembered how they tortured and mutilated citizens.

He remembered how they made up one excuse after the other for what they are doing.

He wished he could just forget it all.

And now he was again here. All what he wanted was to cry.

The Transformers who died there were Decepticons and there allies, he thought. It was necessary, Cybertron was better without them. That was it what he had told himself again and again. With the time, he had actually started to believe it.

He heard the laser blasts, he saw unarmed civillians who were placed against the walls and shot, he heard the screams of the ones who were tortured and the pleas for mercy.

Later it was called the darkest day of the Autobots all over Cybertron.

In the middle of the carnage, he saw his commander standing, lifting his communicator and sending a message to someone.

"Yes Lord Cronus", the mech said, "the mission is going as planned. We will be finished here very soon."

"Very good my friend. We will meet at the arranged coordinates. There you will get your reward", the voice on the communicator answered.

Nobody knew that he had heard this words in that night. He had never talked about it to anyone, he never said anything. Never could anybody know that he was involved in this, never.

But now he was here again. He saw the dead robots lying on the ground. But what then happened horrified him more than anything else.

The corpses were standing up again, the dead Transformers rose and walked to him.

Their dead vocalisers said only one word.

"Murderer, murderer." They said it again and again.

"No", he screamed. He draw his gun and shot at the zombies. They came closer and closer. As they are about to grab him, it was suddenly over.

He was back on the planet, he realised. It was over.

Then he saw that another mech was standing directly before him, his partner Omicron. He had a burning hole in his chest and he had his gun pointed at him. The other Autobot fell down and was lying motionless.

He had killed Omicron, he realised shocked.

No, no, it wasn´t his fault, it were the illusions. He would say it was an accident, a faulty blaster or something, they would believe him, they had to.

He turned around.

And he was looking directly in a gun. After a few seconds he recognised terrified the Decepticon air commander Starscream. The last what he saw was how the weapons of the Decepticon discharged.

Starscream was doing what the deceased air commander had told him to do, what he had to do to be free of him, to proof his rank and his power. This Autobots wouldn´t stand in his way.

He barely registered that one of the Autobots had just shot his comrade. Good, one insect less to deal with, he thought. It would be nice if more people would just shot themselves if he´d showed up and spared him the work.

But the world just wasn´t perfect, unless he would rule it of course, he thought.

He shuckled innerly.

Another Autobot came running down the ramp of the shuttle. A minibot, another weak fool. He was easily dealt with, with a few shots.

All three were dead, like everybody would be who stood in his way. Starscream was now boarding the shuttle. He lifted his guns, he would do what he had to do.

xxxxxxx

Optimus and the others concentrated their fire on the monster. After nearly a minute it broke finally down. No part that it consisted of was still intact, the metal was melted, the flesh vaporized to fume.

They had finally won. Then they heard the explosion.

They could make it out, they knew were it came from.

"The shuttle", Kup called out.

The Autobots looked at each other. They just wanted to get back to the landing place as they were greeted by a well known voice.

"Optimus Prime, I see you are really here too."

"Megatron", the Autobot leader answered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They all saw the explosion. This was a strange thing, since the rest of the time they could barely see a few metres far.

"He wants us to see this", Ultra Magnus commented.

"Yes, he wants us to know that we are trapped here", Optimus said. The explosion they had just seen, had come directly from the place where their shuttle had landed.

xxxxxxx

The two groups of Transformers were standing together, debating what to do next. Both sides had informed each other briefly about their experiences.

"You say this creature came from another dimension?" Optimus asked.

"Yes and a group of their scientists had accidentally brought it here", Megatron answered.

"And one of them is still working for this being and had told you the entire story?"

"Yes."

"We can try to fight", Jazz offered. "We analyse our enemy, search for weaknesses. With our combined knowledge, we certainly find a way. Optimus, you said yourself that the Matrix can be used as some sort of counter for it."

A few of the Autobots frowned, it was possibly not a good idea to mention this in front of the Decepticons.

"There is only one problem Jazz", Optimus answered. "At our last meeting, he already had shown an interest in the matrix. He had practically tried to trick me to hand it over to him."

"He is from another dimension", Megatron said. "Who knows where he came from? Who knows what kind of world that was? Look around", he continued", death, chaos, destruction, maybe this are his natural conditions. Maybe that is what gives him life."

"Are you implying that maybe he becomes more powerful through the destruction he causes?" Optimus asked curious.

"No, to be honest I have no idea Prime, I don´t know", he said grimly. "What I mean is, think about it, he is a being of pure energy, he doesn´t need fuel, land or an atmosphere, he had already destroyed this entire planet and now he simply stays here and waits. If he craves destruction so much, why has he not long left for other worlds?"

"For some reason, he can not", Optimus concluded. "Like you said, he is cut off from his natural environment. It is possible that he had simply not enough energy to leave for other worlds."

"Yes", Ultra Magnus replied, "and he had lured both of our groups here. With the Matrix, which is, said to be one of the greatest energy sources in the galaxy. Even if he can not leave this planet now, if what is told about the Matrix is true, with it, I am sure, he can."

Magnus looked around. He knew the most Autobots didn´t feel well with the idea of speaking in front of Decepticons about the Matrix. It´s existence wasn´t exactly a secret, even under Decepticons, but a lot of what they knew was based on myths and rumors.

Anyway, this creature getting his hands on the Matrix was far worse than any Decepticon finding out more about it.

"And then what happened here, will repeat on other worlds", Ultra Magnus continued.

"Could we find a way to send him back where he came from?" Kup offered.

"Autobots", Optimus addressed them, "yes, it is possible that we could do that. Maybe we could even destroy him. But that is the problem. It is not sure. We don´t know if we can win and the only thing that proved to be actually effective against this enemy, is exactly that what he wants to get. And should we lose, it could doom the entire galaxy. Fighting under this conditions is pure insanity."

"Our ship should still be intact", Megatron said. "We Decepticons can get off planet anyway when we transform. But you are right. Optimus, given the circumstances, I offer you and the Autobots a temporally truce. We will work together to get out of that creature´s reach. If our ship is still intact, we can all use it to get away from here."

Optimus saw that Kup and Jazz seemed more than sceptical about the idea, while Ultra Magnus seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he had.

What kind of alternative did they have? Trying to confront that monster and practically handing the energy source, he obviously wants over to him?

"I accept your offer Megatron", he answered.

"Good, first we need to find out about the ship. Skywarp", he called the seeker.

"Yes Megatron?"

"Can you teleport here?"

"In this environment? I don´t know. It could be dangerous, but I can try."

"Then try it. Teleport first to the Autobot shuttle and confirm that it is really destroyed like we think. Then go to our ship and warn them about an possible attack. Tell them to start and fly to us, but to hold themselves outside of the atmosphere. We will try to come closer to them too. Then they shall pick us up from here."

After a short moment of hesitation, Skywarp answered.

"Yes Megatron."

"Then do it. Give him the exact coordinates of the shuttle", Megatron said to the Autobots.

As Kup had transmitted it to him, Skywarp disappeared.

"If Skywarp has success, we will get away from here soon."

"If he has", Thundercracker said quietly. "What about Starscream?" He asked louder.

"We can not effort to search for anyone else, we will be lucky if we get away ourselves."

"But Starscream is…"

"Do you want to find him yourself? Alone you wouldn´t come 100 metres far and you know that too. He is probably long dead anyway."

"We are missing Ironhide too", Optimus said. "You are right, we can not risk everybody else."

"Optimus, you can not really…", Jazz called out.

"Ironhide is one of my best friends Jazz, but if we would try to save him, we risk all of us and if this creature gets his hands on the Matrix, it will possible become unstoppable. Then what happened here could repeat itself everywhere else in the galaxy."

xxxxxxx

One wave of pain after the other went through the body of the captured robot. Electricity ripped through his circuits. More slings with razor sharp edges grew out of the ground and started to cut slowly into his armour. All he could see was blackness and the face of the female who was talking to him.

Ironhide was an experienced soldier. He always thought of himself that he could resist any kind of torture, but this was slowly bringing him to his limit.

Even worse was it that this thing, that looked like his former superior officer was executing the torture.

"And, how are you holding out so far little robot?" The woman asked. "I am curious how high he pain tolerance of your kind is. Something my master could surely find good use for, I´m sure", she said. "It has been a long time since I could perform such an interesting experiment. And on a living subject on top of that."

"You", he yelled at the much smaller female native in front of him, "when I get out of here, I will smash you into organic mud."

"But you won´t get out of there", she said sweetly to him and smiled.

"What do you want from me?" Ironhide screamed.

"Only your pain."

xxxxxxx

Skywarp appeared in the valley where the shuttle of the Autobots had been landed. He was again all to deeply reminded how terrifying this planet really was, especially if you were alone.

And this time was not even Thundercracker with him. The for, that was hanging over this entire area was still there and made it impossible to see anything over greater distances.

Yes, but strangly only a few minutes ago, they could perfectly clearly see the explosion.

It was as if this fog only existed when this creature didn´t wanted them to see anything, as if he was controlling the things around them.

Could betray their senses, let them see whatever they wanted.

Where the things around him even real? Could he trust anything he saw?

Despite everything he had already seen, this thought scared him.

No, he had already seen what the enemy could do. There was no reason to believe that this creature could do more than it had already shown. It had no sense to drive himself crazy. If the monster had greater power than it had shown, it would have already used it against him. At least he hoped so.

But some doubt staid, what if everything that he saw around him wasn´t real but only an illusion. Could he even tell the difference.

After a minute, he saw the remains of the shuttle. It looked s if somebody had blown the engines up and of course destroyed the entire ship in the process.

Close to it, he found the dead bodies of three Autobots. One had been too close to the shuttle as it exploded. He had literally been ripped to pieces. The two others looked as if they had killed each other. It reminded him all too much of the dead Decepticons that Optimus and his group had found.

It was as if he could hear the voices around him. Like before.

He was hearing them in the mist that was surrounding him.

And one was coming closer, coming for him.

xxxxxxx

The other Transformers had started to move in the direction where they would meet up with the ship. Like the last time, they could barely see a few metres far. This was especially remarkable since the optical sensors of the Transformers were far more effective than the organic eyes of the natives of this planet.

Now it actually seemed to be worse than before. The fog was thicker than before, the weather was getting worse. It was as if a force that was controlling this planet didn´t want them to go.

And they knew this was the truth.

They all were depressed and in a bad shape, physically and mentally. Several of their comrades had been killed and they hadn´t been able to do anything about it. And they were fighting an enemy with no idea how and if they could defeat him.

But all of them tried not to show it.

Soundwave wasn´t an exception. With him it was literally vivible that something had shaken him and that while Soundwave barely talked usually and even less showed emotion.

For him, it wasn´t just what the creature had shown him, it was what was about to happen, what he was forced to do. It was the meaning behind his personal illusion.

What the creature had shown him was his greatest fear.

None of them had spoken about what they had seen, neither the Autobots or the Decepticons. Maybe they would later, when they were back home. If there was a later for them. But not as long as there was still danger, not as long as the mission was still going on. They were all warriors after all.

Kup was walking close to Optimus. He used the chance to talk to his leader "in private", as good as this was possible under this circumstances.

"I personally think it wasn´t a good idea to let the Decepticons know more about the Matrix", he said to him.

"What other choice did we have? If this creature would had the Matrix, it would be worse than with any Decepticons."

"You don´t have to tell me, but I still don´t like the thought", Kup replied.

Yes, in one point was Kup right, Optimus thought. Giving the Decepticons more knowledge about the Matrix and it´s supposed powers, was something that could lead to bad consequences later. Even if it was only the fact that this creature had showed interest in it. Every bit of knowledge however that the Matrix and it´s abilities are more than an old myth could raise their interest in it and give the Decepticons another strategically target and another reason for this war.

But Optimus had an image in his mind. Whatever it was, what was holding this being on this world so far, Optimus was sure, if it was able to use the power of the Matrix, it would be able to leave to the stars. And then would the nightmare that had happened here repeat itself everywhere else. Every planet that crosses the way of this monster would fall first into chaos and would then be destroyed.

And Optimus remembered very good that the next planet from here was right now Cybertron. Everything the Autobots had ever fought for would be lost and then, the entire galaxy would be under threat.

He couldn´t, under no circumstances, let this happen.

"Heh what is that?" Kup suddenly called out.

He was right, they realised. Before them, something was shaping out from the shadows. They heard screams haling through the mist.

As they came closer, they saw what it was.

Slings were growing out of the ground, forming something that looked like a cage and a robot was trapped inside. It was Ironhide.

Next to the cage stood someone else. The Autobots recognised to their horror, the damaged and mutilated form of the former squad leader Def Charger. His body was full of open wounds and was looking as if it was about to fall apart.

It was a scene like out of a nightmare, but after everything they had already seen in the last days, this seemed quiet normal for them.

The robot inside was constantly tortured by electroshock's that were sent through his body. They saw that next to the cage stood a much smaller figure, a female of the native species of humanoids.

"It is you", Megatron said.

"Yes and I fear I can not let you continue your way", Xaaras told him.

She looked from one Transformer to the next. Finally her gaze fell on Optimus Prime.

"As you can see, I have your friend. If you go any farther, he will die."

xxxxxxx

Skywarp heard the voice coming closer, someone was coming from beside him. Slowly, he recognised the voice and saw the figure appearing, a seeker pretty much like he himself. He could barely believe that he was seeing him here alive.

"Starscream", he greeted him.

The other seeker just starred at him for a few moments, then he smiled.

"Ah Skywarp, he had told me that somebody would come, but I didn´t know it would be you", Starscream looked for a moment as if he was thinking about something, then he showed a knowing smile. "What had led you to this place brother?"

"Who has told you?" Skywarp asked carefully. Starscream acted strange, even by his standards and he had actually a very good idea who `had told him´.

Starscream was looking to the side, as if he was seeing something.

"Starscream", Skywarp tried to talk to him, "Megatron has send me. We will try to get away from this planet. It is good that I have found you. We had already thought you were lost."

Starscream was still starring at an empty place, a few metres from them.

"_Don´t listen to him. All he wants to keep you from doing what you have to do. To keep you from the power that I have promised you, that you deserve", the phantom of the former air commander told him._

"Yes, yes you are right", Starscream murmured.

"Starscream, who are you talking to?" Skywarp asked nervously.

"No, you won´t stop me", the other seeker yelled and aimed his guns at Skywarp.

Starscream fired, but Skywarp dodged the shot, even if it was barely.

"Damn, have you lost your mind", the black seeker yelled.

"I can not allow you to leave this planet."

"Why not?" Skywarp asked angrily. He brought a greater distance between himself and Starscream.

"On this world is a key to power, my way to prove myself worthy. He has promised me. When we will all stay here, we will receive the power. The Decepticons will reign supreme and I will be the greatest of them all. For that reason I have to destroy the ship, to make sure that nobody leaves this planet." Starscream smiled.

"Starscream, listen to me. This planet is under the control of a dangerous creature. Megatron had ordered to evacuate."

"Megatron has?" Starscream looked bewildered for a moment. "No, no", he murmured.

"Starscream, this creature can deceive our senses, you are manipulated."

For a moment Starscream looked Skywarp in the eyes, with an mixed expression of confusion and anger.

Then he started to laugh.

"Skywarp, Skywarp, do you really think I, Starscream, could be manipulated by some creature", he said to him with something between compassion and pity.

He turned around and looked away from Skywarp.

"Yes, my friend, it is obvious that you can not understand what is happening here. Something like that is far beyond you. But that is no surprise right? Since I was always by far the superior model of us." Starscream smiled.

One moment later, he raised his guns up again and fired, but in exactly that moment, Skywarp teleported again.

Starscream´s blasts went through empty air.

xxxxxxx

Skywarp realised that he had made it, he was by the ship and it was still intact.

One of the other seekers, who staid behind as guards opened the lock.

"Skywarp, what had happened?" He asked. "We had lost contact to you and you can believe me a few strange things happened here."

"I will explain everything to you. First we have to start the ship. We have to pick up Megatron and the others. And stay over the atmosphere", he added.

"I understand", the seeker answered him.

"And something else. Look out for Starscream. He has gone insane, he is completely out of his mind", Skywarp told him.

"He has been lost out there for an entire week." Skywarp pointed at the dead wasteland.

The other seeker looked at him uneasy. He remembered the things he had seen in the short time he was here and he didn´t even went far away from the ship.

He could only imagine what had happened to the air commander.

xxxxxxx

Over the surface of the planet, all through the atmosphere, the creature that was ruling this planet was laughing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Something was stalking through the darkness. It was a natural predator. A hunter who was used to track his intended targets in the night, in waste areas, in the most dangerous habitats. _

_Now he was lurking across the burned out ruins and devastated landscape._

xxxxxxx

The allied group of Autobots and Decepticons was standing a short distance before the cage that contained their comrade Ironhide and the woman who was threatening him. If they came any closer, she said to the Autobots, he would die.

Megatron and Thundercracker had told them about her. A survivor of the natives, who was now serving the creature they were facing right now, the one that had destroyed this world in the first place.

The Decepticons in the group had no real reason to care about Ironhide´s life, but they had agreed to work together for now. Endangering this Autobot now could turn the others against them and lower their own chances to leave this planet alive.

This was a typical situation where allies could turn on each other, Megatron knew this. So the Decepticons were hesitating too.

"So, what will you do now?" Xaaras asked them. "Whatever you do, your friend here dies in the moment you move. My master makes you an offer Optimus Prime", she said to him in a friendly tone", give him the Matrix and this robot will live."

"Never", Optimus answered. As he said this, more electroshock´s went through Ironhide.

"Optimus", he yelled, "don´t, think about doing what this bitch tells you. Get off this planet no matter what happens to me."

Ironhide screamed under an even greater onslaught of shocks.

"And you should know that another agent is just on his way to destroy your starships. One he already has and then you will be stranded here, you will all die and my master will get the matrix anyway. Why don´t you just give it up? So you will at least safe your life´s live.

Optimus, are you really going to let your men die for a symbol, an old artefact?"

The Transformers looked visibly shaken, but they all knew what happened. It was the Matrix that protected the Autobots from the influence of the monster. Whatever it was, it was more than a symbol and it couldn´t be allowed to fall into the hands of this creature.

xxx

_The hunter had stalked his prey. He had his eyes on his target, hiding in the shadows and waiting for the right moment to strike._

xxx

"And, Autobots and Decepticons," Xaaras asked them, "what is it?"

In that moment she heard a growling behind her and turned around.

All she saw at first was a dark flash of something moving, a creature coming out of the shadows to strike at her.

For the blink of an eye, while she was moving around, she saw a large carnivorous creature, those claws were moving down.

The assembled Transformers, at least the most of them, were completely surprised. They all recognised the form.

"Ravage", Thundercracker called out.

The feline Cassette-Decepticon had not longer been seen, since the Decepticons had been caught in the last illusion, since they had been in the central of the monster.

Ravage had jumped out from his hideout, jumped at the Xaaras and stroke her with his sharp claws across the stomach.

For a short moment, Xaaras said nothing from shock and surprise. Then she looked down at herself. Two large, parallel cut went across her upper body. She saw that her blood was splattered over the ground below her and realised that her stomach was ripped open. She could see her organs hanging out of her body.

After a second she felt the pain. Her legs became week and she fell to her pain became unbearable and she wanted to scream, but she couldn´t. Then she sank to the ground.

The Transformers saw that the woman fell to her knees. She looked as if she wanted to scream, but only blood came out of her mouth. Then she fell down, dead.

Somewhere in his mind, Optimus realised that it was the last of an entire species who had died here, by the hands of the Transformers even more so, despite what she was, she was the last of her kind, that alone should have been reason to be sad.

But Optimus had no time now to deal with thoughts of that kind. He realised that the electroshock´s that were tormenting Ironhide had stopped. The imitation of Def Charger, next to the cage, stood comletely still and didn´t moved a limb. It´s form suddenly turned black and then it fell apart to ashes.

Optimus didn´t knew why and how, maybe the creature had been distracted, maybe it couldn´t split his concentration at so many places at once,

maybe it had overseen Ravage?

Ravage, along with Starscream and Ironhide, was one of the Transformer they had thought to be lost. They all had already accepted that this three had been lost and it would be impossible to save them anyway.

All he knew was that he had to act. He and Ultra Magnus ran forward, as long as they had te chance and pulled the ranks that Ironhide´s cage was made of apart. Then they pulled Ironhide out. The Autobot had large superficial damage and looked terrible, but he was alive.

"Optimus, Magnus, thank you", he said.

"Come, we don´t have time", Megatron reminded them.

They all were already walking again, continuing their way. Every metre they came closer to the ship was one closer to safety.

"One thing I don´t understand. Why was Ravage be able to suddenly show up here, without that creature noticing? I thought you have lost him", Jazz asked.

"There you should best ask Soundwave, I am sure he can tell us more", Megatron said, looking at his communication officer.

Megatron was right, Soundwave thought. As they all knew, he had lost contact to Ravage during their last encounter with the creature.

Soundwave had strong telepathic abilities and was connected to his cassettes with a mind-link. But Ravage had cut this connection off when he vanished.

He knew that Ravage could reduce his conscious thought to a minimum. In that way he was probably able to escape the enemy´s telepathy for a while.

Ravage had followed them in the background and waited for a possibility to strike and assist them. Soundwave had to admit that he was proud of Ravage and his skills. But that hadn´t kept him from feeling worry. Even if he had anticipated that Ravage could try something like this, he could´t shake off the feeling that he would probably be lost and not only him, but everyone else too. That he would be left alone to wander through this dead world.

He remembered what the creature had showed him. For the others, he knew, it were scenes from their past, he knew, even if he didn´t knew what exactly, for him it was something else.

Floating, floating in space, that was it that the creature had shown him.

The illusion that he was drifting in space, alone. He had been cut off from everyone and everything else. The rest of the Decepticons, his cassettes, everyone.

Even for a normal person, this feeling of suddenly being so completle isolated was terrifieing, for a telepath like Soundwave, it was completely devastating.

But now, that Ravage was back and that he saw, that he had succeeded, he already felt visibly better.

xxxxxxx

The Decepticon ship flew over the planet, in the direction Skywarp gave them.

He had by now informed the other three Decepticons about everything.

"We are nearing to the coordinates you gave us Skywarp", one of them told him.

"Good, then sink lower. If they follow the plan, they will already come in our direction. We need to pick them up."

"You said we should stay outside of the atmosphere, because it was too dangerous down there", one of the other seekers stated.

Skywarp laughed slightly.

"I never even said that I am sure it is safe **up** here. And now go down."

"The scanners are picking up an object, it is coming closer, fast", one of the others told him.

"Starscream", Skywarp stated, "we have to hurry."

xxxxxx

"Soundwave, do you receive any transmissions?" Megatron asked.

"No Megatron, not yet."

"How much longer will it take Megatron?" Optimus wanted to know. He strongly suspected that Megatron wouldn´t be able to give him a clear answer.

"I don´t know. As you remember, we are already walking in the direction of the incoming ship to spare time."

"Let us hope that Skywarp had actually been able to reach it", Optimus pointed out.

"If he was not, it will be another four miles for us", Megatron said grimly.

"In this environment, that is as good as four hundred", Optimus replied.

"Yes", Megatron answered.

xxxxxxx

"Have you found them?" Skywarp asked the seeker at the controls.

"Not yet", he answered.

xxx

Starscream was in his jet mode and flying with full speed after the ship. He had to reach them. He remembered what happened.

"_He__had__escaped__you",__Skylord__said__to__him__angrily._

"_He__run__away__from__me",__Starscream__yelled,__"he__fears__me."_

"_No__you__fool.__He__is__simply__trying__to__reach__the__ship.__They__are__preparing__to__leave__this__planet__and__you__have__failed__to__stop__him."_

"_No."_

"_You__really__disappoint__me__Starscream.__From__someone__who__is__worthy__of__the__power__I__have__to__offer,__I__would__have__expected__more."_

"_I__will__get__him,__I__will__get__them__all."_

"_Skylord"__grabbed__Starscream__at__the__throat._

"_I__will__give__you__another__chance",__the__phantom__said__to__him.__"Stop__them__and__I__will__make__you__more__powerful__than__you__can__imagine.__But__if__you__fail__me__again,__I__promise__you__will__be__lost__in__the__darkness__forever."_

Starscream brought his turbines to his limit. On his mind was only one thought. He had to get them, he had to.

xxxxxxx

"I am getting a signal", one of the seekers said to Skywarp.

"Good, that are they. Get down."

"Starscream has nearly reached us."

xxx

"They are here", Soundwave said. "I am getting a signal."

"Skywarp can you here me?" Megatron asked.

"Yes."

"I see you had made it to the ship."

"Yes I have. Megatron, Starscream is out there. I think he is under the influence of that creature. He seems to be completely insane."

"I understand."

So the air force commander was still out there, Megatron thought and he was against them.

The ship became visible through the mist, about a half mile in front of them. It was going to land in front of them.

xxx

Suddenly a shock went through the ship.

"Something is wrong", the seeker said.

"What?" Skywarp asked.

"I am losing control. It is as if some force is pushing the ship from the outside."

xxx

The other were seing from the ground how the ship first stopped in mid air and then started to spin around.

"It seems we have underestimated our new friend", Ultra Magnus pointed out.

The ship was getting more and more out of control, it looked as if it was threatening to crash.

"You won´t got away", a voice that they all knew said out of the wind.

xxx

"Skywarp, the pressure on the outer shell is permanently rising, if it continues like that we will burst."

"How is that possible?"

"It is as if something had grabbed our ship and is now crashing it."

xxx

"The ship will be destroyed if it continues like that", Kup cried.

"I see only one chance. Pray that I am right Kup."

With this words Optimus put his hands on his breast. He opened his chest compartment and took the Matrix out.

He held the object before his body. Optimus knew how bad the situation was.

The Matrix, was one of the most mysterious objects in the universe and it was said to be one of the strongest. It´s tale was crowded with myths and rumors like nothing else Optimus knew of. It was said to be alive, intelligent, that it could give life and many things more.

"I don´t know if this is the right thing. If I fail now, I will make it for this monster only more easy to get you. I hope that you are truly more than an old artefact", he said quietly to the object. "If you are, then do what you can."

He held the Matrix up and for a moment nothing happened.

Optimus knew how desperate he must look, as desperate as he felt. Without the ship, he and his Autobots would be lost. So he put all his hope in something that had yesterday only been an old myth for him.

In that moment a blue stream of energy left the Matrix and hit the ship.

xxx

Another shaking went through the ship.

"Skywarp", the seekers on the controls called out surprised, "I have the ship back under control, the pressure on the hull is gone. I don´t know what happened."

"let us get the other on board as fast as possible."

"Starscream has reached us", one of the others screamed.

A moment later laser blasts were fired at them.

xxx

The ship had become stable again. Optimus smiled under his battle-mask. The Matrix was truly more and it had been their rescuer here.

He looked around. The Decepticons knew this too now. Maybe they would be after the Matrix some day. But he had no choice.

Right now the Matrix had been their salvation. And even in Megatron´s hand it would be better as in the one of this monster.

The ship was coming down.

Then they saw another seeker appearing. Starscream came down in jet mode and opened fire at the ship. To their luck he was still to far away to make a clean hit.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp and the others", Megatron called into his communicator, "get up there and do everything to stop him."

"He can hardly take all of us", Ironhide said confidently.

"All he need is one hit at the engines and we will be stranded here Autobot", Megatron replied.

Thundercracker transformed and lifted up, Skywarp teleported outside of the ship and the two engaged their superior officer.

"No, no you won´t stop me. Not then I am so close", he screamed. And then he shot at his trine partners.

Starscream was the best flyer the Decepticon air force had ever seen, a genius. But his two wing-mates were close second and third and together more than a match for him.

xxx

He had the Matrix still in his hands then he heard the voice again, calling his name.

"Optimus."

Before him formed a dark glowing ball of energy. Then it reformed itself into one of it´s other forms. A humanoid shaped solid shadow. The red eyes of the black figure looked at Optimus.

"You were right Optimus, the object that you call the Matrix will give me the strength to leave this planet and I will not let you leave with it."

xxx

Skywarp and Thundercracker had finally brought Starscream down. Skywarp had teleported a few times to keep him off guard. Thundercrackers left wing was burning because of a light hit of one of Starscream´s shots. But in exchange Skywarp was able to hit his turbines and now Starscream was spiraling downwards and was forced to land.

He reached the ground not far from Megatron. Skywarp and Thundercracker transformed and landed in a short distance to them.

"Starscream", the Decepticon leader called out.

"You", Starscream spat.

He had been shot down, bested, by his own wing-mates, humiliated and now their leader, the one who had ordered them, the one who was fleeing the planet, was standing before him. A leader who was running away.

"You are not longer worthy to be our leader, you are abandoning this planet, you are running away. You are abandoning the power on this planet. I know it."

"What in the universe are you talking about?" Megatron asked as he dodged one of Starscream´s shots.

"There is a unlimited source of power on this planet. With it we, I will be invincible. He has told me."

"Who has told you?"

"Skylord", Starscream answered.

"Skylord, he died over two vorn ago, remember?"

"Yes, yes, I remember. You should have seen how he lay on the ground, pity full, pathetic. As he reached out his hand to me, I put an end to his suffering."

Megatron frowned. There had been rumors that Starscream was responsible for the death of the last air commander, but now he had the confirmation.

"Starscream, here is a creature on this planet that is manipulating our minds. You are played for a fool. He is just using you."

"No", Starscream said. In that moment the phantom of Skylord appeared before him again.

"_You__have__failed__to__stop__them__again__Starscream,__you__have__been__shot__down,__just__like__me,__by__your__own__trine-mates,__your__brother,__pity__full__indeed."_

"Shut up", Starscream yelled.

He was bombarded with memories.

_The failed exploration mission with Skyfire, how he had gone lost and he had spend days searching for him. Without success._

_His return to Cybertron. The ones who found him were a group of Autobots. And he was built as a member of the warrior line._

"_What__have__we__here?__A__Decepticon",__they__said.__"What__shall__we__do__with__him__commander?"_

"_Lock__him__up__for__now.__We__will__decide__how__to__deal__with__him__later."_

_He had tried to explain to them that he had nothing to do with the Decepticon uprising, that he had been part of a science mission. It only became worse._

_They had thrown him in a cell and beaten him up. The one they called the commander had asked him questions. The commander wanted to know what became of his partner. If he had shot him down during the mission. They asked him how long he had already been spying for the Cons. _

_Then they left him in his cell. He didn´t knew how long. _

_Until finally something happened. The base was attacked by other Transformers, Decepticons._

_As the energy was shut down, he was able to get out of his cell. He heard laser fire everywhere and screams. _

_And then he met someone in the halls, the commander. He remembered how he threw himself at the Autobot, how he felt nothing besides rage, he saw nothing around him beside him. How he smashed his head on the ground again and again, until he finally held his guns on his head and fired, again and again. _

_The Decepticons found him a short time later, kneeling over the dead body of the Autobot. They congratulated him and invited him to join them, they send him to the war academy._

Starscream relived all those memories in the blink of an eye. The entity that was manipulating him forced them all over him.

"No", he screamed again and attacked Megatron in a blind rage.

"I will destroy you", Starscream called out.

Megatron punched him hard in the gut and threw Starscream away from him.

"I shall lead the Decepticons", Starscream sneered.

"Leading Starscream?" Megatron smiled. "Right now you are nothing as a marionette. You let this creature control you like a puppet. You do everything he says, isn´t it? Tell me, are you a warrior or a tool?"

Starscream hesitated. "No", he said, he thought. What was going on here? He didn´t knew what was happening.

In that moment he was hit by a shot in the back. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Thundercracker", Megatron acknowledged the seeker who had taken him out.

xxx

From the shadow creature, something that looked like a large black claw reached out to Optimus. Like before, a sphere of blue energy appeared around him. The claw was stopped and could´t break through it.

Slings were growing out of the ground and were hammering against the barrier that had formed itself around Optimus.

"No Optimus, you won´t escape." The red eyes of the creature bored into his.

Optimus was confronted with a feeling of absolute darkness, of hate, despair and violence.

"Yes", the creature said, "look in my mind and I in yours."

"Who are you? What are you?" He could only ask.

"I have no name in the sense you know it", the creature told him. "I am destruction, hate, death, darkness that are my names. I was once part of a greater whole."

Both were standing motionless in front of each other. Optimus saw the red eyes of the creature and he couldn´t look away anymore. He couldn´t move, he couldn´t talk, he no longer knew how.

The creature was trying to connect their minds, Optimus knew subconscionally or maybe it was the Matrix telling him this. If it could take him over, like it did with Starscream, everything would be lost. But he didn´t knew if he could stop it.

The Matrix had deflected the physical attack, but the psychological one was something different.

"_Yes,__I__see__your__thoughts__Optimus,__thoughts,__pictures,__words.__Destrucion,__war,__chaos__and__dieing__worlds",__the__creature__was__looking__deep__into__Optimus__mind__and__his__memories,__"destruction,__hate,__darkness,__manipulation,__sinistre,__intrigue,__cabal."_

_Random thought and words, the creature was repeating that were running through Optimus processor, words Optimus subconscious was using to describe it. _

_Optimus who was more and more losing himself._

"Cabal, yes, I think that would be a fitting name for myself", the creature said.

_Cabal, the word was repeating itself again and again in Optimus mind, the name of their enemy._

"And soon I will be through your mental shields Optimus and you will be mine and then even the Matrix can not longer protect you or you it"

"Optimus", someone yelled. It was Ultra Magnus. He had seen Optimus standing like in trance and had a good idea what the monster was trying to do.

"Concentrade, resist him, you can not let him get you", he called out.

Optimus heard the voice calling for him and slowly he was starting to regain his senses.

Megatron saw what was happening too.

"Start", he ordered the seekers who were flying the ship, "stay 10 metres over the ground and let the ramp open."

Megatron knew, he didn´t need the Autobots to leave the planet, in fact he didn´t need them in the first place. He could fly. Skywarp and Thundercracker in their jet modes could actually travel shorter distances in space. It wouldn´t have been easy, but it was possible for them to reach Cybertron on their own. Even without the ship. He and his troops could have always left the Autobots behind on this planet.

But that wasn´t the point. The point was Prime was right. This creature could under no circumstances be allowed to get the Matrix and become even more dangerous. Not with Cybertron in close range. Or they would escape here only to be destroyed on their own homeworld.

"Prime, he is a telepath. Magnus is right, concentrade. He can only controll you if you are insecure or confused. That is his weakness. Use your will."

Optimus had now fully awakened. He saw that Kup and Jazz were standing next to him. Magnus and Ironhide were holding him by the shoulders. They were backing him up, helping him.

Even Megatron ironically.

The blue light around them became suddenly two times stronger. With a giant energy outburst, the creature named Cabal was thrown several metres back.

The black claws and ranks, attacking them were disintegrated.

"Now run", Optimus called out.

At Megatron´s order the ship was already a few metres in the air, so that they could start as fast as possible.

Ironhide and Kup were grabbed by Thundercracker and Skywarp, who were lifting them up to the ramp.

"Heh, let your hands off me Decepticon", Ironhide complained.

Optimus and Ultra Magnus jumped up and Jazz was lifted on board. In the moment they all were on the ship, Megatron gave the order to start into space.

The ship flew up with maximal speed and was only a few seconds later about to leave orbit.

The creature on the planet had reformed itself after the sudden attack, but it was too late to stop them. They were already out of his reach. The monster was looking up to the sky, to the spot where the ship and the Transformers had vanished.

xxxxxxx

They were standing on the bridge of the ship.

"Yes, like we said Optimus Prime", Megatron said, "we will put our differences aside until we have reached Cybertron, but when we are back, the war will continue like before."

"I know Megatron", he answered. "Cybertron will soon leave this system and then this threat will be removed from our world, hopefully forever."

"Do you really think he wont´t be able to escape from this planet someday?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"You are right. As much as I would like to hope that. I fear too someday this monster will escape this planet and threaten other worlds again. "

xxxxxxx

He opened his eyes. For a moment all he could see was a very bright light. Then he realised where he was. In the med bay on a Decepticon ship. Skywarp and Thundercracker were standing next to him.

"Look who is awake", he heard Skywarp´s unmistakely voice.

Then Starscream suddenly remembered all what he had done in the last week. This planet, his team had gone insane, they had killed each other in the most gruesome way. And he, he attacked Megatron, he tried to kill him.

He saw that the Decepticon leader was standing at the other side of the room. Maybe he should have stayed off-line, Starscream thought sarcastically.

"I see you are activate again", Megatron said.

He charged his fusion gun and aimed it directly at Starscream´s laser core.

"Megatron", the air force commander said insecure, "I swear I wasn´t myself. As you said, that thing was controlling me."

"As I remember, you thought that you should be leader of the Decepticons."

"Megatron, by all respect, you know he wasn´t responsible for anything he had done", Thundercracker pointed out.

"Yes? And what is with killing our former air force commander Thundercracker? Was he back then also not responsible?"

"Skylord had failed", Starscream cried out weakly.

"Just like you", Megatron told him. "Are we sure that it was only the creature responsible for his behaviour? Can we be absolutely sure?" He asked threatening.

"Megatron please", Starscream brought out.

After a few seconds the Decepticon leader put his weapon down.

"I will give you another chance Starscream. Now you will prove yourself to me."

Megatron turned around and left the room.

"Now Thundercracker, you have to admit all this was a very interesting experience. I hope we will never get into something like that again."

"You say it Skywarp."


End file.
